In Another Lifetime
by xxxjoxxx
Summary: Jack and Kate have both been hurt before and have closed themselves off from emotion but a traumatic event causes them to have to rely on each other and in doing so each opens up for the first time in years. After so long of pushing people away, fear caus
1. Chapter 1

**'In Another Lifetime'**

_Summary – Jack and Kate have both been hurt before and have closed themselves off from emotion but a traumatic event causes them to have to rely on each other and in doing so each opens up for the first time in years. After so long of pushing people away, fear causes Kate to ignore her heart and do what she does best – run. But fate can work in mysterious ways and if now is not the right time, maybe they will meet again – in another lifetime. _

_Disclaimer – I don't own anything_

**Chapter 1**

Kate's POV

Kate Austen stood in line at Central City bank waiting to withdraw her last $200 to pay off her increasingly exasperated landlord. This was the first time in years that she'd been in a bank – giving fake names to employers meant that she could only do cash in hand jobs so she had no need for a bank account. She did have one though; it contained all of the money she'd earned one summer before she'd left home. She'd put it in a bank account so that her family didn't find out that she had it, resolving to one day use it to get away and to only use it in emergencies. The last time she used it was to get away and she hadn't used it since but she wasn't getting paid until next week and she was already 2 months behind on her rent. She didn't want to use the money but as work had been sparse lately, she didn't have any other options.

Wearing brown combats and a white vest top Kate stood with a protective stance, arms folded across her chest. Always alert but with eyes dejected and saddened from years of betrayal and disappointment she surveyed her surroundings, taking in the rush of people - all thankfully too preoccupied with their own trivial problems to take any notice of her. Appeasing herself with this thought she took in the guy standing in front of her. She had given up on love a long time ago, her heart only capable of being broken so many times, and resolved to never let herself get emotionally involved again. She had learned that a smile could get her pretty much anything, like a free drink when she was low on cash or help changing a tyre when she had a flat, but once she had gotten what she needed she was gone. Attachment was bad - she was better off alone. Whilst she never got emotionally involved it didn't mean she couldn't look. This guy in front of her, although she could only see the back of him, was obviously good looking. About 6'2 with short cropped dark hair and broad shoulders he was the typical tall, dark and handsome. He was obviously rich too, wearing a crisp white shirt and suit pants with his jacket slung over his shoulder, she doubted he was here to take out his last dime so that he still had a place to sleep next week. She chuckled to herself – his watch probably cost more than her months' rent. He probably had the whole American dream going on – wife, kids, and a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence. Guys like him lived in a different world to her; a world she'd never be a part of.

Kate was broken out of her reverie by a commotion at the door. A shiver ran down her spine before she even turned to see what was going on, but as she did she realised that being kicked out on the streets would have been a better scenario than this.

"NOBODY LEAVES. I WANT EVERYBODY ON THE FLOOR – NOW!"

Jack's POV

After an 18-hour shift at St Sebastian's hospital, the bank was really the last place Jack Shephard wanted to be, but after a phone call from the bank saying that there had been some unusual activity on his account he begrudgingly waited in line. At this point in time he really couldn't care less if some spotty teenager had hacked into his account and used it to buy 100 playstations, all he wanted was to go home, crawl into bed and block out the reality of his life for a few hours until he had to be back at the hospital again.

To an outsider Jack had it made – he was considered one of the best spinal surgeons in the state, and at only 35 that was pretty impressive, he also had a comfortable lifestyle because of his job. There was a time when he would have agreed with their opinion, but after his wife leaving him, a messy divorce, his father dying and his mother blaming him for it he really didn't feel that lucky. The main focus/the only focus in his life was his work because there he felt like he had a purpose – he could make things better, he could fix people. He didn't mind the long hours, in fact he embraced them – its not like he had anything to come home to, all he had was an empty apartment.

Tired and in need of some food, Jack was in no mood for queues. He was about to leave and go home when his day just got a whole lot worse.

"NOBODY LEAVES. I WANT EVERYBODY ON THE FLOOR – NOW!"

**Chapter 2**

4 men wearing balaclavas and dressed all in black stood in the entrance to the bank, each pointing guns, which wouldn't look out of place in a war zone, at everybody in the vicinity. Frightened screams could be heard emanating from every corner of the room.

"DID YOU NOT HERE ME? I SAID ON THE FLOOR!", one of the gunmen boomed.

Jack immediately went into protector mode, motioning to the people in front of him to get on the floor. As they began to take his instruction he turned and noticed a young woman with long curly brown hair, probably in her mid-twenties, still standing just staring at the scene in front of her.

"Hey, Miss" he whispered, but with no effect. "Hey", he tried again, lightly shaking her arm.

Kate was frozen, she couldn't move, it was like she wasn't there but was just watching the scene play out. She was trapped, and that was what scared her the most. She was used to being able to run – to escape when things got too bad. That was the one thing she was good at, how she protected herself – running, but now there was nowhere to run and she didn't know what to do. She was broken out of her trance by someone shaking her arm. She turned to see that it was the guy she had been checking out earlier. He was indeed good looking and looking into his eyes she momentarily forgot the panic she had just previously been experiencing – those eyes, she had never seen such intense eyes before, it was like they were drinking her in. Looking into his eyes she recognized many of the emotions portrayed there – hurt, betrayal, loneliness, but overriding all of those at the moment was concern.

"We should get on the floor", the guy told her in a caring voice, still holding her arm. She flashed him a barely there smile but he caught it and gave her a reassuring smile back as they both sat down, leaning against the counter. "It's guna be ok", he told her, giving her arm a slight squeeze before removing his hand. In that moment when he was looking into her eyes, Kate believed him.

3 of the gunmen remained by the door, guns poised, preventing anyone from leaving, whilst the other grabbed an old woman and hauled her to her feet, dragging her over to the cashiers' desk. "You" he commanded, referring to the cashier. "Where's the manager?". The cashier swallowed and stuttered but didn't reply.

"YOU TELL ME WHERE THE MANAGER IS RIGHT NOW OR I SHOOT HER", the gunman yelled, pressing the barrel of the gun to the old woman's head.

The cashier looked on the verge of tears and opened her mouth to reply but before she could reply a man from across the room spoke up. "I'm the manager", said a man in a suit with neatly combed back grey hair. The gunman holding the old woman motioned to one of the other gunmen who swiftly went over to the manager. "Get up", he barked, pushing the gun into his back and marching him over to his partner, who took command again.

"Now this is how this is guna go down – you're guna take me, my partner and Grandma here to where the moneys kept. You try anything and you won't need money where you'll be", he sneered. "Johnny, you and Cain stay here. Anyone tries to escape – shoot them", he instructed the other two gunmen by the door, before shoving the manager and the old woman through the door.

Jack surveyed the room, checking that no one looked injured. To his relief everybody seemed relatively ok, frightened and anxious as would be expected, but thankfully no one seemed hurt. He turned and looked at the woman sitting next to him and really looked at her this time. Before she had looked so scared – he had never seen so much fear in someone's eyes before, even in all his years as a doctor. She was beautiful, he had noticed that before but now he realised that she was probably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was dressed casually, she had no makeup on and her hair was just loose and curly but she had that rare natural beauty that required no effort to portray. She must have realised he was staring because she turned her head to look at him. He gave her a small smile, "you ok?", he asked. She was so unused to someone caring how she was it was strange that a man she had met less than 20 minutes ago seemed so concerned about her well-being. Kate just nodded, maintaining eye contact as looking into his eyes took away some of her fear. Jack must have sensed that this was more than just fear of being shot as he reached over and took one of her hands, which were braced on either side of her legs, and laced his fingers with hers in a reassuring gesture.

"Its guna be ok", he said, repeating his words from earlier. Kate just nodded again, finally breaking eye contact but keeping hold of his hand. Normally she would never have allowed such a show of affection but this was an extreme circumstance she told herself – she could allow herself one moment of weakness. She was scared and this guy took away some of that fear, how she didn't know, but for some reason she trusted him, and that was beginning to scare her even more than being trapped.

Kate focussed her attention back on the situation around her and it was then that she noticed a little girl with her legs pulled up to her chest, cowering under a desk. She couldn't have been more than 5 years old, with long wavy brown hair. She was becoming more and more distressed and her cries had now attracted the attention of the gunmen. Just then the girl caught Kate's eye and she felt like she had been punched in the stomach. The girl reminded her so much of herself it was frightening. She looked just like a miniature version of herself. Kate remembered hiding in exactly the same position in a cupboard under the stairs when she was a child.

"Shut her up!", Johnny yelled at Cain.

The little girl looked with wide eyes from the gunmen back to Kate with a heart breaking pleading look on her face. Johnny went over to the girl and pulled her by the arm from under the desk. "Stop crying!", he yelled at her, which of course made her cry more. "Where's your parents?", he tried in an annoyed but slightly quieter tone.

"Th-the bad man to-took my nana", the girl sniffled, tears streaming down her face.

Johnny stood back up. "Fuck! What do we do now?", he yelled at Cain.

"Just shut her the fuck up!", was his angry response.

Kate couldn't take it any longer and before Jack could stop her she broke away from the relevant safety of holding his hand and ran over to where the gunman was holding the little girl, putting a protective hand on her shoulder. "Leave her alone!", she commanded in a confidence she didn't know she possessed.

"I thought I told you to stay on the floor!", Johnny yelled, getting increasingly annoyed. Kate however refused to back down, and with years of practice of hiding her feelings, tried to reason with them.

"She's just a child – let her go".

"And why would I want to do that?"

"If you let her go you won't have to listen to her crying", she offered, hoping that this would be an incentive.

He paused, thinking it over and then sneered, "Looks like we got ourselves a wannabe hero here. But I am getting kinda sick of the kid's wailing". He bent down to the little girls height, "Hey kid, looks like it's your lucky day. Get outta here", he barked, shoving her roughly towards the door. The little girl stumbled and looked back up at Kate as if asking for permission. Kate nodded and smiled at the girl who gave her a look of gratitude. "Move kid" Johnny yelled. With one last look at Kate the girl tuned and ran out of the door towards one of the many police officers that had now surrounded the bank.

Jack watched in awe and terror as the woman who not 5 minutes ago seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown had put her own fears aside to save the life of a child. Kate now satisfied that the little girl was safe, turned back to return to her seat next to Jack. She got half way before she was stopped by the Johnny's voice.

"Hey lady", he yelled, "This is what I think of heroes".

She turned around just in time to see him cock his gun and point it at her. 'BANG', a shot rang out and before she knew what was happening she was lying on her back on the floor, briefly hearing the seemingly distant screams emanating from around her.

Kate was in such a shock that it took her a moment to realise that there was someone lying on top of her. On closer inspection she realised it was the guy whose hand she had been holding whose body was now draped over hers like a shield.

'I'm alive, I can't have been shot', Kate thought in a daze. She was quickly snapped out of it though as she realised the guy on top of her was not moving. "Hey, hey" she said, gently pushing his chest, becoming more and more frightened. To her sheer relief she could feel his heart beating through his shirt and he seemed to be responding to her voice.

"Ughh", Jack groaned as he rolled off of Kate, realising that he must have blacked out for a few seconds. Remembering why he was in this position he quickly looked over at Kate sighing with relief when he realised she was ok, and seeing the same expression of relief reflected in her eyes as she looked back at him.

Kate reached over and helped him to his feet but froze when she looked down at his arm. Jack followed her gaze and grimaced when he saw what she was looking at. His once crisp white shirt was now a sickening crimson. He looked back up at Kate and saw that the fear that was there previously had returned, and now if it were possible, it was even greater. "I'm ok", he assured her with a smile, knowing that if it were serious and had hit an artery there would be a lot more blood.

"Another fucking hero!", Johnny spat, waving his gun and marching over to Jack and Kate, "What is it with you people!".

He was stopped however by Cain who grabbed his arm, yanking him around to face him. "Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?", he yelled, "shooting people was never part of the plan!".

Yanking his arm away Johnny gave Cain an icy stare before continuing towards Jack, who now stood protectively in front of Kate, placing a hand on her side to keep her behind him. This only served to make Johnny laugh, "Ah look at that – the hero's protecting his girlfriend", he sneered, "Looks like you found yourself a Prince Charming there darling".

"I hate heroes", he stated, pushing Jack along – who had now manoeuvred Kate in front of him out of direct contact of Johnny. "Move", he commanded, poking the gun into Jack's back. "Get in there – and stay in there". Giving Jack one final push, Johnny shoved them both into what seemed to be an office supply closet before locking them in.

**Chapter 3**

Flicking the light switch, Kate realised that the room was indeed a supply closet, and trying the door she realised that there was no opening it. "Looks like we might be here for a while", she said, more to herself than anyone else. Turning around she saw Jack sitting on a desk and gave him a shy smile, who returned the sentiment. Walking over to him she once again noticed his arm. "You're hurt", she stated with a pained expression.

"I'm ok, it's just a surface wound"

"How do you know?"

"I'm a doctor"

Kate smiled, 'figures', she thought. The stubborn side of her kicked in however – even if he was a doctor she needed to see for herself. "Take off your shirt".

Jack raised his eyebrows teasingly at her. Kate blushed, which Jack thought made her look even more beautiful.

"I want to check your wound", she reasoned.

"You a doctor too?", Jack teased.

"Just take off your shirt"

Jack smiled at her babying him but obeyed none the less. "Yes maam".

Reversing the roles of doctor-patient, Kate helped him undo the buttons and slide his shirt off. With the shirt pooled on the floor she couldn't help but stare at his toned, muscular, slightly haired chest. He was the absolute definition of gorgeous and an unconscious sigh escaped her lips. "You checking me out?" Jack teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Kate's face flushed red but she managed to maintain her composure. "Trust me, if I was checking you out – you'd know about it!" Jack grinned in response.

Even though she had been, there was no way she was going to admit to it. Finally realising that the purpose of undressing him was no to ogle him but to check his wound, she switched her gaze from his impressive body to his shoulder. Reaching over she lightly grazed his arm with her fingers and realised that he was probably right about it being a surface wound – it was clean, the bullet had just skimmed the surface, but there was still a small trickle of blood seeping from the wound. "We need something to stop the bleeding", Kate commented as she looked around the room for something that could be used as a tourniquet, "erm…here, this will work", she said holding up Jack's tie that had been discarded along with his shirt. She proceeded to gently tighten his tie around his wound, trying not to cause him any more pain. " There", she said with a smile, satisfied with her work, "all done".

Jack was more than willing to be the patient for once and smiled inwardly at having caught her checking him out. He couldn't deny that he was enjoying the feel of her hands on his skin and was more than a little disappointed when she had finished. It had been quite a while since he had had any kind of physical contact with a woman, and this stranger whom he had known for less than an hour and had just gotten shot in order to save, was awakening feelings inside of him he'd thought were long dead and was making the little hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. She stood proudly in front of him awaiting his approval, "Thanks", he told her, giving her a warm smile to show his appreciation.

Kate smiled back, "You're welcome".

Ever the gentleman and not wanting to make her feel embarrassed, Jack reached down to pick up his shirt. Seeing what he was about to do, Kate took the shirt from Jack's hand, eliciting a confused look from him. In response Kate used the bullet hole for leverage and tore the sleeve completely off. "So I can see your shoulder better", she stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Kate then helped him put his shirt back on, being extra careful with his injured arm, and even did the buttons up for him.

Even though Jack could have managed this particular task himself he allowed her to do it for him, watching her intense concentration as she manoeuvred his injured arm, afraid that she might hurt him. It was nice to have someone show him some compassion after so long, and the fact that it was a woman whose beauty took his breath away that was dressing him was an added bonus – he doubted that he would be as inclined to let a 300 lb trucker attend to him in the same way.

"Maybe you should be the doctor instead of me", he said, giving her a warm smile.

A wistful look passed over Kate's eyes; "I doubt it, I'm no hero, when things get intense I tend to run for the door"

"No, I don't think that's true – you're not running now"

Kate averted her eyes and looked at the ground. She didn't know why she had told him that, she never talked bout these things with anyone. "…and you didn't run out there either - you saved that little girls life in there. You didn't have to get involved but you did, even though you were scared you did it anyway, and because of you she's safe. Don't put yourself down", he added, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Kate looked into his eyes and didn't see any sign of deceit – he meant what he was saying, even though he barely knew her he believed in her and thought she was a good person, and Kate couldn't understand why. Not knowing what to say and uncomfortable with showing any signs of affection, she broke his gaze and changed the subject. "Do you think they'll be alright in there?"

"I don't think they intended to shoot anyone, I think they just want money. One of those guys out there is relatively sane – he'll stop the other one from shooting anyone else. Besides, the bank's surrounded by police, and now they've heard a shot they should be in here pretty soon."

"How do you do that?"

"What?"

"Make a completely awful situation seem ok"

"I'm a doctor – it's my job", Jack smiled, causing Kate to laugh lightly.

Kate looked at him, contemplating whether or not to say it, but deciding that she should. "Thank you".

"For what?"

"For saving my life! You got shot so that I wouldn't. You shouldn't have risked your life for me but I'll never forget that". She gave him a small smile, trying to show him that she was sincere.

"No problem" Jack replied.

Kate moved and sat next to Jack on the desk, legs pulled up to her chest and leaning against the wall. Jack followed suit and scooted back against the wall too so that he didn't have his back to her. "I have a cell phone in my jacket if you want to call anyone, let them know you're ok", Jack offered.

Kate gave him a sad smile, "thanks, but there isn't anyone. You should call though, you're wife will probably be worried about you"

Jack snorted, "I doubt it – we got divorced 6 months ago"

"Oh, I'm sorry", Kate replied, mentally slapping herself for causing him to recall it, but secretly pleased at the knowledge that he wasn't married, even though a guy like him would never be interested in a girl like her.

"Don't be. We weren't right for each other…took me a while to realise that but it was never guna work". Jack couldn't quite believe that he was baring his sole to a relative stranger when both his mother and his friends had long since given up on trying to get him to open up and labelled him as a lost cause. But for some reason it didn't feel awkward or forced to talk to her – it felt completely natural. "So how about you, you ever been married?" From the look on her face he knew the answer before she even spoke.

"Yeah", she replied, looking at her shoes, "but it didn't work out". She didn't offer any more and Jack realised he'd hit a sore spot and so changed the subject.

"So, you from LA then?"

Kate hesitated, alarm bells ringing in her head - she barely knew this guy, should she really be discussing her life with him, especially as she had come to LA to escape from her past. She never gave details about herself to people, always being vague and brushing them off. Something inside of her though, and she didn't know what, wanted to talk to this guy – something told her that she could trust him. Trust. Trust was something that had hurt her too many times in the past…so why now was she willing to trust a guy whose name she didn't even know? Maybe it was because he had saved her life, or maybe it was because he had been hurt too. She couldn't explain it but there was something about him that made her feel that she could trust him.

Jack sensed her hesitance, "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry"

"No, no it's ok", she reassured him, "…and no I'm not from LA, I'm from Iowa"

"Iowa - you're a long way from home"

"Yeah, well it wasn't much of a home", she said, with a far off look in her eyes.

Jack studied her, a questioning look on his face as if asking for an elaboration. 'Why am I telling him this stuff?' Kate wondered but continued anyway, "…I left 7 years ago when I was 18"

"How come?"

Kate sighed deeply, what was the harm in telling him – it had been so long since she'd had a meaningful conversation with anyone it felt good to finally get it off her chest. Besides, its not like she'd see him again after today anyway. "My mom married this guy – Wayne when I was about 5 and things were bad from then on…he used to hit my mom, beat her up – she always made excuses for him, said she walked into a door or something but I knew she was lying. He never hit me though, but one night when I was 13 he…he, well lets just say he did un-fatherly things to me. And it was like that for 5 years. I was just a kid I didn't know what to do. When I was 18 I told my mom but she didn't believe me – called me a liar, said that Wayne would never do that. She told me to leave – said she couldn't live with a liar. I asked her how she could live with him then, and she hit me. I just turned and ran", Kate swallowed and pulled her legs tighter against her chest, resembling the little girl cowering under the desk. "I didn't have anything with me so I waited 'til they'd both left, at least I thought they'd both left, and snuck in to get my stuff. I'd got as much as could fit in my bag and was just about to leave when Wayne came in. I could see in his eyes what he was guna do, but something in me snapped – I wasn't going to let it happen anymore, so I hit him - as hard as I could. He wasn't expecting it and he tripped; hit his head on the dresser. He wasn't knocked out though, he tried to grab me but I was too quick. He looked at me and I've never seen anyone with so much hate in their eyes before. He told me I could run but he'd always find me, and when he did he'd kill me. I ran, got on the first bus I found and I haven't been back since".

Kate sat in a trance, her eyes focussed on the wall. That was the first time she had ever told anyone that and she felt oddly relieved that she finally had. She was brought back to reality by the feel of Jack's hand gently brushing stray tears, that she didn't realise had fallen, from her cheek. She looked up at him, and where she thought she'd see disgust or pity in his eyes she was surprised to see understanding, care and even anger. Confused, she pulled away from his touch and wiped away the rest of her tears with her hand. "Sorry", she said, choking out a laugh, "I didn't mean to break down on you".

Jack was stunned at what he had just heard, he couldn't imagine the pain she must have gone through. He felt protective over this woman, even though he had known her for less than 2 hours, and so could feel his blood boil as she recounted what her step father had done to her. How could anyone do such a thing to this beautiful woman? He could say with absolute clarity that if he ever met this guy, he wouldn't think twice about killing him. He suddenly realised that that was why she looked so scared before – she had nowhere to run and that scared her more than anything. "Hey, don't apologize", he told her soothingly, "you've got nothing to be sorry for. It's your bastard step father that should be sorry!"

"Yeah, well I can't see him ever being sorry"

"So you've been running for 7 years?", he asked in awe.

"Mmhmm", she replied, "gotten pretty good at it too. Never stay in the same place too long – less chance of being found"

"But what about settling down…having a family?", he asked.

Kate smiled sadly at him; "It wouldn't be much of a life for a kid having to skip town every 4 months"

Jack dropped his gaze to the floor. "Hey, it's not all bad", she added, trying to lighten the mood, "I've seen most of America and I'm only 25, I'd say that's pretty good going". She smiled at him, showing him an incredible strength that must have been what had gotten her through the past 7 years. Jack smiled back, but not in pity of the hardships she had to endure, but in appreciation of the amazing woman he was just discovering.

Kate let go of the death grip she had on her legs and switched to a cross-legged position facing Jack. "So…I've bared my soul, what's your story?"

"Trust me, my story's not worth telling", he told her sadly.

"Come on, I bet that's not true", she told him encouragingly, "What happened with your wife?"

Jack looked up at her, they had known each other for a matter of hours and yet here he was talking to her about things he had never talked to anyone about. He couldn't understand why it was so easy to talk to her, why it didn't feel awkward. He took a deep breath, about to recount one of his life's greatest failures. "She was one of my patients – Sarah, she was in an RTA, came to me with a crushed spine. The doctors they told her she'd never walk again. She was engaged and she told me she wanted to dance at her wedding but I told her she shouldn't build her hopes up – her spine was badly damaged. I operated on her and just before she went under she told me she trusted me. I was in there for hours working on her and I repaired her as best I could. When she came round I told her that there was a good chance she'd be paralysed from the waste down…but she asked me why she could move her foot then. I couldn't believe it and neither could anyone else – I'd done it, I'd fixed her. She wanted to dance at her wedding…and she did – she danced at ours". Jack smiled at the memory, even though it ended badly he would never regret enabling her to walk again.

"Wow", Kate replied, "if I'm ever in an accident I'm asking for you!"

Jack laughed, "Lets hope you never need to do that"

Kate smiled, "So what happened?"

"To cut a long story short – we drifted apart. I was working long hours at the hospital – when I got home she was already in bed and when I got up she'd already left. I guess we just stopped communicating. One day I came home from work and found her with her bags packed – she was leaving me, she'd found someone else. Even though we were almost strangers by then it was still a shock. She said she couldn't live like this anymore, that I'd always need something to fix", Jack laughed sadly at the last part, "…so she left".

Kate could see the pain in his eyes, it was a pain she recognised all too well – betrayal. "She's an idiot", Kate stated.

"Huh", Jack replied, confused at her response.

"Your wife – ex-wife…you're a catch!", she told him, earning a laugh from Jack, "If she can't see that then that's her loss but if I had you I wouldn't let you go"

Both Jack and Kate were shocked at such at such a remark. Kate now feeling embarrassed looked away. Jack however just looked at her trying to figure her out. He'd never met anyone like her before – she was broken but at the same time she was incredibly strong, and cliché as it sounded, it felt like he'd known her for years rather than hours.

"Look at us", Jack chuckled, "is it weird that we've only known each other for a couple of hours but you probably know more about me than people who've known me my whole life?"

Kate smiled at the thought, "yeah, you're the first person in 7 years I've talked to about my past. Its weird but it doesn't feel weird…if that makes sense"

Jack grinned and nodded, "yeah, it makes sense"

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both content with just the presence of the other. It was Kate who finally broke the silence, leaning forward so she could see him, "Can I ask you a personal question?", she asked, "you don't have to answer if you don't want"

"What" Jack asked warily.

"What's your favourite colour?, she asked smiling, which caused Jack to laugh and a huge grin to spread across his face.

**Chapter 4**

Jack and Kate continued to talk, as if they were old friends, the conversation taking a less serious turn with them learning little trivial things about each other like Kate's favourite ice-cream flavour – vanilla, and that Jack had to have at least 4 cups of coffee a day. When they weren't talking they sat in comfortable silence.

"So how come you wanted to be a doctor?", Kate asked, breaking the silence.

"I was kind of born into it, my father was a doctor and ever since I can remember it was always expected that that was what I would do too"

Kate nodded, a thoughtful look on her face, "what kind of doctor are you?"

Jack smiled, "spinal surgeon"

Kate looked up at him, clearly impressed and then noticed the tattoos on his exposed shoulder, "So are you some kind of hard-core spinal surgeon?", she asked smiling, "its just that you and your tattoos don't add up"

Jack followed her gaze and chuckled, "hard-core…I like it"

"…so you're not guna tell me about your tattoos then?

Jack smiled, "that's a story for another time"

Kate however stopped smiling, "another time?", she asked. There wasn't going to be another time – as much as she liked this guy, and the more time she spent with him the more she desperately wanted there to be another time, she couldn't let herself get attached because it would only be harder when she had to leave.

"Yeah, another time", Jack repeated, refusing to break eye contact. He liked this girl and that scared him, but it was a good scared and he wanted to see her when they weren't being held hostage. There was a connection between them, and he knew she felt it too.

Kate looked away, not wanting to admit that there wasn't going to be another time. Jack sensed the change in her and wondered whether or not he should say what he was about to, after all he had only just met her – he had no right to interfere. Being who he was though he couldn't not try to help. "You should go to the police…about your step-father – there's people that can help", he suggested hesitantly.

"I can't", Kate replied instantly, sliding off the desk and moving to the opposite side of the cupboard, which wasn't very far but she didn't like where the conversation was heading. "They won't believe me", she explained shaking her head.

"Yes they will!", Jack insisted, going over to her and taking her hand in his, "…and then you could stop running".

"Don't", Kate pleaded looking him straight in the eyes, "you don't know what it's like, what he's like – he'd kill my mom. It's better this way"

Jack couldn't stand the pain he saw in her eyes, it was like someone was twisting a knife in his heart. "Everyone deserves a second chance. It doesn't have to be like this – I can help you"

Kate's heart soared at his offer, the fact that he wanted to be associated with somebody like her, but her head told her that this was a good man and it was unfair to drag him down. If she got involved she knew she would only end up getting hurt, but worse than that she would end up hurting him – and that was something she was unwilling to do. She pulled her hand away from his and went back to sitting on the desk. "I can't be saved…I'm better off alone. You and me…we're from different worlds", she told him sadly.

"We're not that different", Jack replied giving her an adorable smile that made her heart ache with the knowledge of how her life had to be.

Kate smiled back at him, "you know, my first impression of you was wrong"

"Why? What was your first impression?"

Kate laughed lightly as she recalled her first thoughts about him, "When I was standing behind you in the queue, I looked at you and I thought you were one of those stuck-up, rich business guys"

Jack smiled at the description, "well I'm glad I proved you wrong", he told her, "…so you were checking me out then?" Kate chuckled which made her eyes light up, which in turn made Jack's smile widen. "I'm really glad I took that bullet for you", he told her sincerely, "…can I see you again – outside of this store room?".

Kate looked at him, wanting more than anything to say yes, to be able to see him again. 'It's not fair!', she thought to herself. She had only known him for mere hours but already in that time he had been able to break through the barriers she had constructed around her heart – and that was the reason she knew she had to walk away.

Jack could see the mix of emotions and could tell that she was going to say no, even if she didn't want to. But looking into her eyes he knew that he couldn't just give up. He reached up and brushed a stray curl away from her face and then cautiously leaned his face in towards hers.

Kate didn't pull away from him - she couldn't, her body wouldn't let her turn away. His face was mere centimetres away from hers and she could feel his breath on her lips. She closed her eyes, going against every instinct that told her to run, waiting to feel his lips brush hers.

Jack leaned forward, his lips a hairs breath away from hers, and was about to finally connect them when the door suddenly flew off its hinges, ruining the moment. Kate's eyes snapped open and her head snapped towards the door where 2 police officers now stood brandishing guns. Unconsciously when she had heard the noise she had grabbed Jack's hand and was now holding it in a death grip.

The officers, realising that it was just Jack and Kate in the room lowered their guns.

"Sir are you ok?", one of them asked, "Miss?".

"Yeah, we're ok", Jack told them.

"The bank's secure now - the 4 guys have been arrested. You're safe now"

'Safe' Kate thought, 'I'll never be safe'. Suddenly realising that she had grabbed Jack's hand she quickly let go.

"If you both follow us we'll get you out of here", said one of the officers, motioning for them to follow him, "you must have had enough of being cooped up in here".

Jack forced a smile, the truth being the complete opposite.

Once outside they were met by a sea of police officers and ambulance crews. "Sir, we'll need to get that arm looked at", one of them told Jack.

"It's ok…just give me a minute", he replied, turning to Kate and gently pulling her away from the crowd.

"You should go and get your arm fixed", she told him.

"It can wait. Besides, you did a pretty good job with it", he replied smiling.

A sad smile crossed Kate's face at his praise, "I should go", she said, looking away.

Jack's heart sank at her words, and looking at her face he could see that there was no changing her mind, but he was unwilling to lose all contact with her.

Kate sighed, mustering all of the strength she knew she would need and turned to leave.

"Wait", Jack pleaded, "I don't know your name"

Kate smiled, had it been anyone else she would have replied with one of her many aliases, but he knew the real her and he deserved to know her real name. "I'm Kate"

"Jack", he replied smiling.

Kate returned his smile, albeit a sad one, "Goodbye Jack". With every ounce of strength she had left, she stepped away from his touch.

Suddenly having an idea, Jack quickly rifled through the pocket of his pants and pulled out a slightly crumpled business card. "Here", he said, stepping towards her and holding the business card out to her, an air of desperation about him, "If you ever need me, call me – anytime, day or night".

Kate took the card from him and carefully placed it in her pocket. "Thank You", she told him and looking up at him she did something she hadn't done for 7 years – she let her heart rule her head. Placing her hands on either side of his neck she brought his head down to hers in a crushing kiss that was both sweet and desperate at the same time. What was left of the barriers around her heart, Jack had now completely demolished and a silent tear ran down her cheek.

Jack was frozen to begin with, but soon responded to the kiss. He couldn't believe it – she was kissing him. Kate was kissing him, and nothing had ever felt so right. But before it could deepen any further, Kate pulled away.

With one last look and one last heart-rending smile, she turned and ran.

_A/N: This is not the end! I'm working on the next chapter. Please R&R, be nice – this is my 1st fanfic. _


	2. Chapter 2

Jack wearily trudged down the hospital corridor towards the cafeteria. After an 8-hour surgery on a 16-year-old boy he was in desperate need of some coffee. Getting his much needed beverage he took a seat looking out of the window. As had become common when his mind was not occupied with trying to save someone's life, Jack's mind drifted to a particular brunette who, although he had only known her for a grand total of 2 hours and 45 minutes, he could still remember every detail of her face – he could recall the exact shade of green of her eyes and how when she laughed she got a cute little dimple in her left cheek. It would be 1 year tomorrow that he had met her and she had been haunting his dreams ever since. That day had been one of the best and the worst of his life: the best because he had met her but the worst because he had lost her. Jack was a practical kind of guy and couldn't understand why he was still thinking about her – it had been a year and she was still his first thought in the morning and his last thought at night. 'But maybe that's the whole point', he thought, 'you're not meant to understand love'. Jack chuckled to himself, 'love', he'd spent a couple of hours with her a year ago – he couldn't possibly be in love with her. 'Why are you still thinking about her then', the defiant part of his brain asked. Jack sighed and took a long swig of his coffee, welcoming the slow burn that glided down his throat.

After that fateful day Jack had been eager to throw himself straight back into work to try and keep his mind off of Kate. However the world was seemingly conspiring against him as the Chief of Staff had had other ideas – his jaw had almost hit the floor when Jack told him that he wanted to return to work the following day. He reminded Jack that he had just been shot and instructed him that he would be taking 2 weeks paid leave, and as he had never taken a sick day for the entire time he'd been at St Sebastian's, now was as good a time as any to start. Jack had tried to argue that he was fine but the Chief had countered that if he didn't go home and rest right now he'd increase it to 4 weeks and so Jack had begrudgingly gone home. Those 2 weeks were probably the longest of his life as sitting alone in his apartment, with no patients whose lives depended on his undivided attention; he had nothing to keep his mind from thinking about Kate – if she was ok, if there was anything else he could have said to stop her from leaving. There was a connection between them, which had been confirmed when she had kissed him – he could still remember the jolts of electricity that shot through his body when her lips were on his. He almost drove himself crazy thinking about her and so when the 2 weeks were finally up he arrived an hour early for his shift, desperate for something else to occupy his mind. For every day since then he had only gone home when he had literally been forcibly removed by his boss and on the 1 and a half days a week he had off, he slept due to sheer exhaustion.

Even though his chosen workload gave him very little spare time, there was never a day went by when he didn't think about Kate. Sighing, Jack looked at his watch, '3AM', realising that his shift had finished 3 hours ago and that he should probably go home. Downing the last mouthful of coffee he got up and turned to leave. Having taken no more than 2 steps from his table, something caught his eye – just beyond the door to the cafeteria standing with her back too him was a woman with familiar long, curly brown hair. With his heart rate increasing ten fold Jack bolted towards her, stumbling over a table leg in the process. Regaining his composure he hurried towards her and reached out his hand to touch her shoulder, "Kate", he sighed, the happiness evident in his voice. The woman turned towards him and Jack's heart sank, "Oh…I-I'm sorry – I thought you were someone else…", he sighed, his shoulders slumping and walking away as the woman smiled apologetically at him. It wasn't Kate – the woman was probably 5 years older than her and the only thing that was the same was her hair. Driving home that night Jack had never felt more alone.

* * *

Kate stomped into her motel room, slamming the door and hurling her purse at the couch. "Men are fucking pigs!", she fumed. Just because she was a waitress doesn't give them the right to feel her up or to make lewd comments every time she went over to take their order. But of course she had to smile sweetly and pretend like it didn't bother her because she needed the job. Sighing and still annoyed, she slumped down on the couch, raking her hands through her unruly curls.

Kate had left LA about a month after the day of the siege. Unusually for her though she had not left the state – she was still in California. After spending the next 5 months in San Francisco, she had been in Santa Monica for the past 6 months – which by her standards was a long time. For some reason she just couldn't bring herself to leave California. It wasn't that the work was good here, it was no better than anywhere else – some of the jobs she'd had weren't half bad but her current one sucked and as soon as she could find alternate employment she would have no problem telling the greasy letches that frequented the bar exactly what they could do with their beers. No, it wasn't the work that was keeping her here it was the fact that Jack was in LA, like being in the same state as him gave them something in common, keeping them connected somehow.

Jack, all of the anger left her at the thought of him. He was one of the few decent guys who were unfortunate enough to enter her life. To this day she could remember every detail about him. He was a good guy – genuine, and he actually cared about her, but as much as it pained her she couldn't let anything happen, knowing that she would only end up hurting him and he didn't deserve that.

Kate was exhausted after holding down 2 jobs; during the day she worked at a quaint little café near the beach – she actually quite liked this job as it was never too busy and the staff and customers were nice. However in order to be able to eat as well as pay the rent, 3 nights a week she worked in a seedy back street bar. Tonight was one of those nights and she felt the same after every shift, but she needed the money. Not having the energy to move but knowing she'd have a sore neck all day if she fell asleep on the couch, she pushed herself up and trudged into her bedroom.

Opening the drawer to her bedside cabinet, Kate rummaged around in search of aspirin to alleviate the pounding in her head, when she came across the one memento she had from Jack – his business card. She had kept hold of it, always keeping it in the drawer next to her bed – it was a small comfort to know that a piece of him was nearby. It would be a year tomorrow, well today she realised looking at the time, that she met him and she had not forgotten a single thing about him. Every day there would be something that reminded her of him, like if she saw an ambulance zoom by she would wonder if it would be Jack that would be working on whoever it was that was inside, or even when she was pouring coffee for someone she would think of him and his caffeine addiction. Picking it up she ran her fingers over his name – it was well worn by now as she had sat like this many a time and even though some of the print was fading it didn't matter as she had long since memorised the number. No guy had ever affected her in the way Jack did and she found it ridiculous that a year after spending a few hours with him he was still the primary occupant of her thoughts. 'Get a grip', she thought to herself, 'he's probably with someone now, moved on, he probably won't even remember who you are'. Although she wanted him to be happy and to have moved on, there was a part of her that knew he would remember her as she recalled the one and only time she had dialled that familiar number…

_It was the last night she spent in San Francisco, waiting at the bus station for the last bus that would take her to her current 'home'. She was absently running her fingers over Jack's card, which was in her pocket, when she noticed a young woman drag her suitcase from a bus that had just pulled up, and hurry towards a guy that was waiting a few metres away from her. When she reached him they kissed fervently before he enveloped her in his arms, picking her up and twirling her around. Kate got a lump in her throat watching the scene and wanted more than anything to call Jack, she just wanted to hear his voice. Pulling out his business card, not that she needed to check the number, she pulled out her cell and punched in the number. She didn't think he would answer at this time of night and hoped that it would just go to answer-phone so that she could hear his voice without having to explain why she had called._

_"Ring, ring, ring, ri – Jack Shephard"._

_Kate was startled that he'd actually answered and was unprepared for talking to the live version of Jack. He sounded tired, like he hadn't slept in days._

_"Hello?", he added"._

_What was she supposed to say, 'Hey, I know you probably don't remember me but I miss you and I've bee thinking about you every day since we met' – yeah right. There was a pause while she tried to figure out what to do._

_"Kate?" he asked, sounding more awake._

_Kate was shocked; both at the fact that he actually remembered her and that he knew it was her that was calling him._

_"Ka-", but before he could say anything else she hung up._

Staring at the card once again she wondered if she should have said something back then. Hating herself for going against all of the promises she'd made herself back when she was 18, never to get emotionally involved, never to get attached, she dialled the familiar number once again and held her breath waiting for a reply.

"_Ri_ – Jack Shephard". Kate was slightly startled that he picked up straight away but smiled at his standard response. There was another pause in which she willed herself not to hang up again.

"Kate?", he questioned, replicating his words from 6 months ago.

"Hey"

_A/N: There will be a bit more interaction in the next chapter but thought I'd angst it up a bit first! Although they've made contact now things are never easy with these two so expect many trials, tribulations and much more angst to come. _

_Hope you like it and please drop me a review…and thanks to those of you who've sent me such nice reviews already._


	3. Chapter 3

_Staring at the card once again she wondered if she should have said something back then. Hating herself for going against all of the promises she'd made herself back when she was 18, never to get emotionally involved, never to get attached, she dialled the familiar number once again and held her breath waiting for a reply._

"_Ri – Jack Shephard". Kate was slightly startled that he picked up straight away but smiled at his standard response. There was another pause in which she willed herself not to hang up again. _

"_Kate?", he questioned, replicating his words from 6 months ago. _

"Hey" 

With that one simple word Jack's heart skipped a beat and once again he felt like electricity was coursing through his blood stream, "Hey", he echoed.

Kate's heart rate also increased somewhat from hearing his voice after so long. Noticing the clock on her dresser she realised that she had a habit of calling him at unearthly hours, "I-I'm sorry, I've just realised how late it is, I didn't mean to wake you – you should go back to sleep".

"No", Jack cried desperately, afraid that she was going to hang up, "I wasn't asleep – in fact I haven't actually gone to bed yet, I've just got off shift. Besides, I told you to call me remember – any time, day or night"

Kate smiled, remembering his words, "yeah, yeah I remember"

"So, are you ok?", he asked, concern evident in his voice, as he feared that she might be in trouble.

"Yeah I'm ok", she replied, hesitantly.

"You sure?", Jack replied, not convinced.

"Yeah, don't worry, I mean I'm not in any trouble or anything", she assured him, "…just had a rough night I guess". She paused, "Just wanted to hear a friendly voice"

Jack couldn't help the surge of pride he felt knowing that she had thought of him when she needed someone, but sensed there was more to it than she was letting on, "you wanna talk about it?", he asked softly.

Kate sighed, "It doesn't matter. You shouldn't have to listen to my problems", she told him sadly.

"Maybe I want to listen to them", he told her encouragingly, "Besides, it's our anniversary today – you have to talk to me on our anniversary!", he added, mock seriously.

Kate laughed slightly despite herself. "Anniversary?", she asked, even though she knew what he was talking about.

Jack sucked in a deep breath, feigning hurt, "Come on Kate, don't tell me you forgot – 1 year ago today, we met, dodged a few bullets, got locked in a closet…ring any bells?"

Kate chuckled, "erm…I think it's coming back to me", she replied, smiling at how easily they had fallen back into a playful banter. "Speaking of bullets, how's your shoulder?"

"It's ok", he replied, "all better, I just have a small war wound now to show for my experience".

"That's good, I'm glad you're ok", she told him, genuinely relieved that he hadn't been seriously hurt.

"…So, what happened tonight?", Jack asked delicately, not wanting to cause her to clam up on him but wanting to help her with whatever it was that was bothering her.

"I just hate my job", Kate sighed, "why do guys think that when they order a beer I'm part of the package and that they can treat me like a piece of meat?!", she elaborated, not really asking Jack but just venting her frustration.

Jack took a deep breath trying to keep his anger in check. He couldn't stand the thought of a bunch of randy guys leering all over her. "Did they hurt you?"

"No, I just get felt up as a thank you for bringing them their drinks", she told him, her own anger returning.

"Kate, you shouldn't have to put up with that, have you told your manager?"

Kate chuckled lightly, "For all the good it would do – he pretty much told me from the start that that was part of the job description…I guess I thought I could handle it…"

"Bastard!", Jack replied, not being able to control his anger any longer, "You should quit Kate – you're worth so much more than that! Surely there are other jobs?"

Kate sighed, "I have another job Jack, but it doesn't pay enough so I have to work at Michael's as well", she told him, trying to make him see that it wasn't as easy as he thought.

Jack paused; digesting the information she had just told him. She was holding down 2 jobs just to survive. Sure he worked long hours, but that was doing a job he loved – it made his skin crawl to think of her working in that bar, Michael's he thought she called it. "Kate, if you need money I can help you out", he assured her.

"No", she replied immediately, too proud to accept charity and afraid that he would think that that was why she had called him, "I can't take you're money Jack – I won't…but thank you"

Jack sighed, not really surprised that she wouldn't take his money, but perked up having had another idea, "you could work with me – at the hospital", he told her enthusiastically.

Kate smiled, "I know I patched you up when you got shot but that hardly qualifies me as a doctor", she teased.

"Maybe not straight away", Jack chuckled, "but I could get you a job on reception…or you could be my secretary?", he added teasingly.

"I bet you say that to all the girls", she teased back.

"No, you're the first", he added affectionately.

Kate chuckled lightly. As incredibly tempting as his offer was she knew she couldn't accept – talking to him on the phone was one thing but seeing him every day would leave her heart irreparable when she left, which she undoubtedly would have to do at some point, and she couldn't let him invest himself in something that would put him in danger if she was ever found, and would one way or another end up with him getting hurt. "Thanks, but I'll be ok", she assured him, "I'm looking for another job and as soon as I find one I'm outta there".

"You're stubborn, you know that", he told her affectionately.

Kate laughed, "I have been told that once or twice".

Jack laughed also, "Seriously though, the offers always open – if you want a job, you've got one", he told her, hoping that she'd eventually take him up on the offer like she had done with calling him.

"Thank you", she told him sincerely.

"You're welcome"

"So, what's been happening in the world of Jack Shephard this past year?", she asked, wanting to talk about something more cheerful, "How many nurses do you have swooning over you, wanting to the next Mrs Dr Jack?", she added, blatantly fishing to find out if he was attached.

"The nurses kinda think I'm a lost cause - I'm already married", he told her, smiling at her shocked intake of breath, "…to my work", he added.

"Oh", she replied, unable to disguise her relief, "too bad for them", she added, clearly not feeling in the slightest bit sorry for them.

Jack chuckled, enjoying how relieved she'd sounded when she knew he wasn't married. "Yeah, too bad", he replied, causing her to laugh, which intensified his smile knowing that her laughing was probably a rare occurrence.

Conversation stayed on a light note, catching up on a years worth of events, with the occasional bit of subtle flirting. Both just happy to be hearing the others voice again, neither noticed the hours ticking by until Jack caught a glimpse of sunlight starting to seep through his curtains. Looking at his watch he had to do a double take, '7.30AM'. He'd been talking to Kate for 4 hours – he couldn't remember the last time he'd talked to anyone for 10 minutes let alone 4 hours! Jack chuckled to himself.

"What?", Kate asked slightly confused.

"Nothing", he told her, "I just realised we've been talking for 4 hours"

"What! No way…", she replied, fumbling with her clock so she could see it. Yep, '7.30AM', it had been 4 hours yet it felt like no time at all. She couldn't believe it – where had the time gone?

"Time flies when you're having fun," he told her smiling, causing Kate to laugh.

"Yeah", she replied, but then felt guilty, "Damn, don't you have to be in work today?, she asked, concerned that she had kept him up all night and that he wouldn't be able to stay awake at work.

"No, it's ok – I don't have to be back there 'til tonight, I'm on nights this week", he assured her. Even if he had to be in work in an hour he wouldn't care because it would have been worth it to hear from her after all this time.

"Oh, good", she sighed, relieved that she wouldn't be the cause of him falling asleep on the job.

"What about you though, don't you have to work today?", he asked, mirroring her concern. He knew she must be exhausted holding down 2 jobs, and doing them on no sleep would be torture.

Kate smiled, "Nope", she replied happily, "It's my day off, my first day off in 3 weeks to be exact. So for today the only person I'm gunna be waiting on is myself".

A loud banging on Kate's door interrupted their conversation. _'Joan open up – it's rent day. Come on I know you're in there'._ Jack could just make out a mans' muffled yelling followed by more banging. Kate cursed under her breath. "I'm really sorry Jack, I've gotta go – my landlord", she apologised, turning her attention back to Jack, genuinely disappointed to have to say goodbye.

"Are you gunna be ok?", he asked concerned.

"Yeah it's ok, I've got his money this week. But he doesn't like being kept waiting", she told him quickly. "Bye Jack"

"Kate wai-"

Before he could say anything she cut him off, "…and thank you – you've made an otherwise crappy night a lot brighter", she told him sincerely.

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get the words out he heard the unmistakable tone that told him she'd already hung up.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far – they really do brighten up my day. Next chapter – Jack's determined not to let Kate walk out of his life again.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you to my lovely reviewers. It's nice to know that people are enjoying my work. Just to clear things up – Kate is not a criminal; she is just scared and running from her abusive stepfather and traumatic childhood._

_Anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you like it._

* * *

_Before he could say anything she cut him off, "…and thank you – you've made an otherwise crappy night a lot brighter", she told him sincerely._

_Jack opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get the words out he heard the unmistakable tone that told him she'd already hung up._

Although Jack could not remember the last time he had slept he did not sleep that day, his mind too wired to succumb to rest. Instead he just lay on his bed replaying the nights' events. The woman who had not left his thoughts for the past year, he had just spent the best part of the night talking to. Half of him was elated at having heard her voice again, but the other half of him was a tumultuous array of emotions, exactly as it were a year ago when she left his life for the first time. Jack smiled as he remembered how they had talked away the hours and how she had shyly at first, but then more confidently returned his flirtatious remarks. His smile faded however as he realised he was right back to square one – she'd left again and he had no way of contacting her. Groaning he rolled over onto his chest and pulled a pillow over his head in an effort to block out his thoughts.

He remained in that position for a few hours, his efforts to will himself to sleep proving fruitless. Glancing at his clock he realised that he had to be at the hospital in an hour. Even though his eyes were sore and his head was pounding, Jack welcomed the distraction – working seemed to be the only thing that detracted his mind from Kate.

Arriving at the hospital an hour later Jack slowly walked the familiar maze of corridors to his office. He was broken out of his daze by someone draping their arm around his shoulders. In his sleep-deprived state he vaguely recognised that it was his best friend and colleague, Marc.

"Dude, you look like you should be the patient rather than the doctor!", Marc joked after taking in Jack's dishevelled appearance.

"Huh?", Jack replied, realising that Marc had said something to him.

"…You ok man?", Marc asked, sounding slightly more concerned.

Before Jack could respond, the Chief of Staff interrupted them, "Jack?" he asked, frowning as he saw the state of him, "you look like hell", he commented.

"I'm fine", Jack told him, "Just give me 5 minutes and I'll be down in the OR", he added, turning to leave.

"Hey, hold on there", the Chief told him, "the only place you're going is home…and you might want to think about going to bed when you get there"

"Really I'm fine", Jack insisted.

The Chief put a hand on Jack's shoulder, "Jack, you're the best surgeon in this hospital, but you'll be no use to anyone dead"

Jack tried to argue but was stopped by the Chief holding up his hand, "Go home Jack", he instructed him, "take a week, take 2…hell, for all the holiday you haven't taken you could go on a world cruise if you wanted!"

"Marc, make sure he leaves the hospital", he said, turning to the other doctor, "and if he tries to come back in – call security", he added, smiling at them both before continuing on his way.

"Come on buddy", Marc said, draping his arm around Jack's shoulder again, "lets get some coffee – decaf for you"

Marc pulled Jack into one of the booths of a café across the street from the hospital. Waving a waitress over Marc ordered the drinks, "oh and 2 burgers as well – everything on 'em", he added after hearing the groans coming from his friends' stomach.

"What's up man?", he asked after the waitress had left, "what's with you burning the candle at both ends?…Don't tell me you finally got laid?", he added, a grin appearing on his face.

Jack shot him a stony glare, "…or not", Marc conceded.

The waitress brought over their food, to which Jack eagerly began devouring, realising how hungry he actually was; eating having not been high on his list of priorities lately. Marc watched his oldest friend inhale his burger like he hadn't eaten in months, which knowing Jack, wouldn't surprise him. "Seriously dude, spill", Marc pushed, "the last time I saw you like this was when you fell for that chick you got shot for last year"

Jack coughed; choking on his latest mouthful of burger and a look of realisation dawned on Marc's face. "That's it isn't it!", Marc enthused, "you did get laid – you found her and you got laid!", he smiled, feeling proud of himself for working it out.

Jack took a gulp of his coffee to try and stop his coughing fit, "I didn't get laid", he told Marc in a strained voice, in between coughs.

"Oh, she wouldn't put out?", Marc asked.

Jack shot him an annoyed look, "Is that all you think about?". Marc shrugged casually, causing Jack to roll his eyes. "I didn't find her, I didn't get laid – I haven't seen her", he told him, earning a confused look. "…She called me".

"And…", Marc probed, leaning his arms on the table, intrigued to know what had happened. For as long as he'd known Jack, he could probably count on 1 hand the number of girls that Jack had lost sleep over, and none, not even his wife had had such an effect on him as this one – Kate.

Jack sighed, meeting Marc's eyes, "And we talked – all night", he told him, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"Wow", Marc replied, "you're not usually a man of many words dude, how'd you manage to string a conversation together for so long?", he teased, playfully punching his friend on the arm.

Jack laughed, for the first time that day, at Marc's attempts to cheer him up. "I didn't even notice how long it had been" he mused.

Marc looked at him with a thoughtful look on his face.

"What?", Jack asked, noticing the smile on his friend's face.

"Nothing just…I've never seen you get like this over a girl before…especially one you've only been in the presence of for 2 hours!", he explained.

Jack sighed again, propping his head up with his hand, "Yeah", was all he responded.

"She must be something special to get you in this kind of state", Marc commented.

A slight smile graced Jack's face as he replied, "Yeah, yeah she is".

Marc exhaled loudly, "Dude then I don't get it! ...why are you sitting here with me – why aren't you out there with her?", he asked, clearly not understanding what the problem was.

Jack straightened back up in his seat and looked at Marc, "It's not that simple", he told him.

"It never is with you", Marc chuckled, "…so she's a runaway – half of America's running from something!", he added, still not fully understanding.

"It's complicated", Jack added frustrated. He had told Marc about Kate having run away but he hadn't gone into detail about the circumstances.

Marc leaned forward on the table so that he was looking directly at him, "Dude, this is how I see it – you like her, she likes you. Whatever her issues are, or yours, don't let them stand in the way…you don't find too many people in this world who can effect you the way she does", he told him, no longer teasing or joking.

Jack looked at his friend. Marc was right – nothing was insurmountable. After last night he wanted nothing more than to see her again but he was scared – there was still a part of him that was full of vulnerability and insecurity that was scared of getting hurt. He also knew though that for the first time in a long time, he was willing to risk getting hurt, because being with her, for however long, would be worth it. "You're right, I know – I should be with her…but I don't know where she is", he admitted.

"You said you talked all night – she didn't mention anything about where she was in all that time?", Marc asked.

Jack thought about this for a moment, "erm…I know she's still in California – she said she'd broken her record, that she'd been almost 16 months in one state…and she was in LA when I met her so…"

"Well that's a start", Mark enthused, liking the idea of playing detective, "did she say anything else?"

Jack racked his brain trying to think of something she had said that might give him some clue as to where she was, "Michael's!", he remembered, a glimmer of hope rising in him.

"Huh?", Marc replied.

"Michael's – it's a bar", he explained, "that's where she works"

"OK, that's good, that's good – so we know she works at Michael's bar, which is somewhere in California", Marc replied positively.

Jack frowned, "But there's gotta be a couple dozen 'Michael's bar's' in California"

"Dude, the Chief's just given you unlimited holiday – do something productive…there are worse things you could be doing than touring a dozen bars", he told him smiling.

Jack suddenly remembered something, "Maybe I don't need to search them all", he replied, returning Marc's smile, "she has 2 jobs – she said she likes the other one better because the place looks out over the beach…so the bar probably isn't too far from there"

"Eureka!", Marc replied, grinning, "A coastal Michael's bar – how hard could that be to find?".

Jack returned Marc's grin, things not seeming at such a dead end anymore.

"What would you do without me man!", Marc enthused.

"Thanks Marc", Jack replied, genuinely grateful for his friends' interference.

Marc stared at Jack, "What are you still doing here?", he asked, "Get out of here – go get your girl", he told him, gesturing towards the door.

Jack laughed as he got out of the booth, a new lease of energy about him. Playfully slapping his friend on the back he made his way to the door.

"Hey Jack!", Marc called, causing Jack to turn back around, "Ask her if she has a sister", he added smiling.

Jack smiled back, "Goodbye Marc", he replied as he left the café.

There was no removing the smile from Jack's face as he made his way across the busy street, back to the hospital car park – he was going to find Kate.

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_Please drop me a review – they make me happy :)_

_Next chapter – Jack's search begins…_


	5. Chapter 5

_Glad you liked Marc in the last chapter, I thought it would be good for Jack to have someone to give him a kick in the right direction! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed – you guys are great. Anyway here's the next instalment…_

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_There was no removing the smile from Jack's face as he made his way across the busy street, back to the hospital car park – he was going to find Kate._

Immediately upon returning home Jack called the Chief of Staff to tell him that he would be taking two weeks vacation. The Chief was rendered speechless at Jack's declaration, having been prepared for a tirade from him about being fine and wanting to come back to work the next day, and having recovered from the initial shock, readily agreed – telling Jack to take as long as he needed.

With that sorted out Jack began searching the Internet for a 'Michael's' bar in California. After half an hour of searching he had a list of possible locations where Kate may be, but was slightly disheartened to find 12 bars with 'Michael's' as their full or part name. However, after further investigation he found that only 5 locations were within a mile from part of the coast.

"Might as well start at the top and work my way down", Jack said to himself, "Santa Cruz it is then".

Having formulated his route, 20 minutes later, after throwing a few necessities into a holdall, Jack grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

Driving down the open highway Jack felt incredibly liberated – this was so unlike him, he didn't usually do things so impulsively yet here he was dropping everything to scour the state in search of a woman he barely knew. His need for sleep now a distant memory, he rolled down the window and enjoyed the feel of the cool night breeze on his face. Jack smiled, imagining his fathers' reaction to such a reckless action – he could just imagine his disapproving looks and sarcastic comments. Even if his father were still alive he wouldn't have cared – he'd spent too much of his life trying to please his father and make him proud but now Jack was the one determining Jack's life. Finding Kate may not save any lives or win him any medical awards, but if something good came out of it, it would be his greatest achievement ever.

Driving the almost 300 miles to Santa Cruz, Jack made it in pretty good time, arriving in just under 5 hours. Glancing at his watch, '5.00AM', he realised that all of the bars would be shut by now and if Kate did work here, she wouldn't be working until the following evening. Suppressing a yawn he decided that there was nothing he could do until then so drove to the nearest half decent looking motel and checked in. Lying down on the bed, the past few days' events finally caught up with him as he finally succumbed to sleep.

Jack slept like a baby and was only awoken hours later by a vibrating in his pocket. Opening his eyes slowly he did a double take when he saw the time – '7.00PM', he had been sleeping for 14 hours – usually he didn't sleep for that long in a week! Realising that his pocket was still vibrating he pulled out his cell and flipped it open, "Hello".

"Hey buddy", came the familiar voice.

"Hey Marc", Jack replied.

"So, you found her yet?", Marc asked, sounding like an excited child, "Where are you?"

Jack laughed at his friends' impatience, "I'm in Santa Cruz", he told him, "…and I haven't found her yet – everything was closed when I got here so I've just been sleeping all day"

"You drove through the night!", Marc exclaimed, quite shocked – he thought Jack would at least get some sleep before driving down, but then realised it was Jack he was talking to, "why am I shocked", he chuckled before Jack had a chance to reply, "of course you drove through the night – this is you!"

Jack smiled at Marc's analogy of him, "yea, I'm gunna head out in a minute – the bars should be open by now"

"Great, well just wanted an update on your progress – good luck man", Marc told him cheerfully.

"Thanks man", Jack replied, "How 'bout you, you back on shift now?", he asked, getting up of the bed and straightening his clothes out.

"Yep", Marc replied, "while you're touring California's finest bars, I'm up to my eyes in entrails!", he joked.

Jack laughed, "Well, you have fun with that", he told him teasingly, "I'll talk to you later".

"OK, bye dude", Marc replied, "Oh and Jack - remember to ask her about a sister", he added, smiling.

Jack rolled his eyes, "Don't worry, I'll remember", he told him.

"Seriously dude, I mean I haven't had as much of a drought as you but I'm going through a bit of a dry spell at the moment", Marc added, trying to sound indignant.

Jack laughed again; he knew that deep down Marc wasn't the player he made himself out to be, although he'd never admit it, and that really he just wanted to be loved – a feeling Jack could relate to. "Goodbye Marc", he replied, clicking off his phone.

Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror Jack noticed his dishevelled appearance and decided that a change of clothes and a shave were in order – after all he hadn't seen Kate in a year, he'd like her to think he could take care of himself.

After a quick freshen up, Jack pulled on some jeans and a clean shirt and headed out the door and following a quick pit stop at the café next to the motel, thanks to his disgruntled stomach, he made his way to where he hoped he would be reunited with the reason for his trip.

Pulling up near to a relatively busy strip of bars, Jack got out of the car and looked at the address he had scribbled down. Seeing that he'd found the right street, he headed off in search of the bar. After about 5 minutes walking, Jack found what he was looking for – there in front of him in swirly gold lettering was the name 'Michael's'. Jack felt his heart quicken upon reading the name and took a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves. Exhaling loudly he picked up his courage and entered the bar.

Looking around it wasn't exactly what Jack was expecting – this place seemed quite up-market rather than the sleazy dive that Kate had described. Seeing as he had drove all this way he decided that it was worth checking out anyway. Taking a seat at the bar he scanned the room for anyone that looked remotely like Kate as he waited for the bartender to come over. It had been a year since he had seen her and for all he knew she could have changed her hair – it could be shorter or even a different colour. However, all of the staff he could see looked nothing like her, and mainly because the majority of them were guys.

Sighing he turned his attention back to the bar and noticed the barman walking over to him. "What can I get you?", the barman asked, smiling at Jack.

"Erm…just a coke please?"

"Comin up", he told him cheerfully, "this your first time here?", he asked, noticing Jack's restlessness.

"Erm yeah", Jack replied, "…actually I was wondering if you could help me"

The barman placed Jack's drink in front of him and then leant on the bar, "What did you have in mind?", he asked, flashing him another smile.

Jack frowned, confused as to why the barman was being so attentive. "I'm looking for a girl", he told him.

The barman raised his eyebrows, "A girl?", he asked.

"Yeah", Jack replied, "I thought she might work here…she's about 5'5", long curly brown hair, green eyes, slim…beautiful", he recounted, a smile tugging at his lips.

The barman stared at Jack, considering this information, "Girlfriend?", he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"…Not exactly", Jack replied, breaking eye contact.

"I think you have the wrong place", the barman concluded, heading towards another customer.

"Wait", Jack called, "so no one like her works here?"

The barman sighed, turning back to Jack, "Darlin', look around", he told him before walking away.

Jack frowned, completely confused as he turned his attention back to the rest of the people in the bar. His eyes widened in realisation – the guys here probably wouldn't have hit on Kate, she definitely wasn't their type – he was actually more their type than Kate.

Feeling more than embarrassed at having been so oblivious, he pinned $10 under his drink and hastily left the bar. Arriving back at his room Jack flopped down on the bed, 'Marc's gunna love this', he thought, starting to see the funny side.

* * *

Kate was absently wiping down the bar, glancing at the clock every so often, trying to will away the final half hour of her shift. Tonight was surprisingly quiet, and for that she was thankful – there were only about 6 guys in there and so far they hadn't given her too much trouble.

As it was quiet, she had time to think and as usual her thoughts drifted to Jack. She couldn't seem to stop thinking about him – it had felt so natural to talk to him the other night, and she still couldn't believe how long they had talked for. Their conversation had made her miss him even more and now more than ever she wanted to see him. 'Then why don't you?', the deviant part of her mind asked, 'you know where he is'. And she did know where he was, his business card told her the name of the hospital where he worked – St Sebastian's, which was less than 10 miles away. The bus station was a 2-minute walk from the bar; she could quite easily get on a bus and be there in 20 minutes.

But why was tonight any different? She had known this for the past 6 months that she had lived here, but there was always something that stopped her from acting on it. She was scared – scared of getting hurt and scared of hurting someone that didn't deserve to be hurt, someone that was too good for her. But now she had a new fear – she was scared that those fears would no longer be strong enough to stop her getting on that bus, because what she was feeling now was even stronger than those fears.

So lost in her thoughts was she that she didn't hear her manager calling her.

"Joan!", he yelled, "hey Joan!", he added, getting annoyed.

Kate turned towards him, realising that he was referring to her.

"Your shift finished 10 minutes ago – I'm not paying you for staying later", he told her.

Grabbing her purse and her coat she forced a smile, walking past him as she left the bar. Standing outside she had a mental battle with herself, "God help me", she sighed, shaking her head as she headed towards the bus station.

Half an hour later Kate was stood outside of St Sebastian's, staring at the impressive building, 'What are you doing Kate', she thought to herself as her legs, seemingly having a mind of their own, carried her towards the entrance.

Steeling herself she entered the hospital and headed towards the reception desk, where she was met with a warm smile from a sweet looking old lady, probably in her late 50's – 'Gladys' her badge read.

"Can I help you dear?", Gladys asked the young woman in front of her who looked rather lost.

"Erm yeah", Kate replied nervously, "I'm looking for someone"

"Ok, is he a patient?", Gladys asked. The young woman looked almost like a patient herself, she thought – she could do with a good meal.

"No, no he's a doctor." Kate told her, "Dr Shephard. Do you know if he's working tonight?"

Gladys smiled sympathetically at the young woman, she obviously had a lot on her mind, "I'm sorry dear, Dr Shephard left last night – he's on vacation for the next 2 weeks", she told her.

"Oh", Kate replied, dejectedly dropping her gaze to the floor. He hadn't said anything about going away, she recalled. 'But why would he?', she thought – its not like she was a part of his life. Instantly she regretted coming here.

"I can leave him a message for when he gets back if you want", Gladys added, seeing the disappointed look on her face, "what's your name dear?"

Kate looked back up at Gladys, "It wasn't important", she told her.

With her arms wrapped protectively around herself she turned and headed back down the corridor towards the exit. She shouldn't have come here; she was stupid to even consider it – Jack had his own life, of which she wasn't a part of, and she needed to leave him to get on with it, and focus on getting on with her own. So busy was she wishing she had just gone straight home after work and not paying much attention to where she was going she walked straight into someone, knocking all of the files out of his hands. "I-I'm so sorry", she apologised, bending down to help him pick up his files.

"Don't worry about it", the guy told her, smiling.

"No really it was my fault, let me help you", she replied, " – Dr Silverman", she added, reading the name on his lab coat.

"Marc – I prefer Marc", he told her, flashing her a friendly smile and helping her to pick up the last of his files.

Kate smiled back at him, standing back up, "sorry again".

"It's fine", he replied, "they're for a doctor I don't like anyway", he added, causing Kate to laugh slightly.

"Bye", she told him before turning and leaving the hospital.

"Bye". Marc watched her retreating back and frowned – there was something familiar about her but he was sure he had never met her before. Shaking it off he turned and headed in the opposite direction.

There you go, hope you liked it. Fate works in mysterious ways sometimes! Next chapter – Will Kate put Jack behind her and move on? And Jack's search continues – will he have better luck next time? Hmm…

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_Please please please drop me a review – I love reading what you guys think of the fic :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you to all of my loyal reviewers – especially Hellmouth20, Ella Jullian and NYR88. _

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Back at his hotel room Jack was feeling restless – it was only 10:30 and with the amount of sleep he'd gotten last night he wasn't in the slightest bit tired. Also, as he was on nights back in LA he would be at work now, so he was wide awake. Pulling the list of bars he intended to check out from his pocket he figured if he left now he could make it to the next one in under 2 hours and get there before it closed. 

Unwilling to just sit around doing nothing Jack decided that that's what he would do, and after throwing the few items that he had unpacked back into his holdall he got back in his car and headed back down the highway. Instead of discouraging him, tonight's events had only made him more determined than ever to find Kate. There was something about her; something he couldn't explain, that had awoken something within him that he thought had died a long time ago. He wasn't going to going to let her walk away again – not without a fight. Smiling, he put his foot on the gas as he headed down the highway.

Sure enough, an hour and a half later Jack had reached his destination – Morro Bay. Pulling up as close as he could he got out and walked to where the bar was supposed to be. Looking around he wondered if he had gotten the right place as it was surprisingly quiet and there wasn't another person in sight. Coming to a halt he realised why – there in front of him of him was a lonely old abandoned tavern; with a sign hanging off of it that read 'Michael's'. Kate didn't work here, and neither it would seem had anyone else for quite some time. Jack kicked the timber pillar in frustration, eliciting a creak of protest from the structure. Sighing he trudged back to his car.

Leaning on the wheel of his car, Jack angrily scrubbed out 'Morro Bay' as a possibility, his mood now changed from excitement to annoyance. Reading the next destination on his list – Santa Monica, he realised there was no way he would make it there tonight before closing, it would take him at least 3 hours. The idea of staying here over night not appealing to him, he decided he may as well head back to LA – Santa Monica was no more than 30 minutes from his apartment so he could just head down there tomorrow. Starting his car, more subdued than earlier, Jack headed home.

* * *

The next day…

Opening his eyes, Jack stretched as he broke into full consciousness. Feeling slightly more refreshed after spending the night in his own bed, he ran a hand through his cropped hair as he stood up. It had taken 5 hours to get back home last night, thanks to an accident causing tailbacks on the highway, and after driving for the best part of the night Jack's bed had never looked so inviting.

It was only mid-afternoon when he woke up so he took his time, showering, shaving and making something to eat that for the first time in days hadn't been deep-fried. Sitting on his couch, idly flicking through the channels, he was interrupted by his front door slamming, and turned to see Marc standing in his doorway giving him a confused look.

"Dude, what are you doing here?", Marc asked, as if Jack were the one who had walked into his apartment.

"I live here!", Jack told him, "What are you doing here?"

"I ran out of food", he replied, shrugging his shoulders, "I thought you were in Santa Cruz", he added, helping himself to the contents of Jack's fridge.

Jack smiled and rolled his eyes, he was used to Marc's unannounced appearances. "I was – she didn't work there", he told him, deciding to leave out the part about not realising that he was in a gay bar. "I went to Morro Bay as well but the place was abandoned", he added.

"You can't just give up man", Marc told him, kicking the fridge door shut and plopping down on the chair opposite from Jack with a plateful of food.

"I haven't given up!", Jack replied indignantly, "there's a bar in Santa Monica I want to check out tonight, but it's a 20 minute drive – I didn't see the point of staying out there"

Marc nodded, unable to respond due to having a mouthful of chicken. "You want some?", he asked whilst chewing, holding the plate out to Jack.

Jack eyed the pile of food, "I'm good", he replied.

After spending the rest of the afternoon playing video games and watching Marc devour the contents of his kitchen, Jack left for Santa Monica, hoping to get there by the time the bars opened.

* * *

Kate arrived at work to find it was already busy – there were about a dozen guys, who appeared to be having a bachelor party. 'Great', she thought, she was hoping to have a quiet night. Sighing, she hung up her coat and silently began clearing some of the glasses from the tables. 

"Joan!", called the manager from behind the bar, "Pick your face up will ya – you'll turn the beer sour".

Kate gave him a tight smile, cursing under her breath, before returning to what she was doing. She jumped slightly as she felt someone running their hand along her thigh, and snapping her head round she saw it was one of the guys from the bachelor party.

"Don't worry darlin', I'm sure I can think of something to make you smile by the end of the night", he drawled, leering at her, a disgusting sleazy look in his eyes and his breath reeking of beer.

Before his hand could venture any further, Kate jerked away from his touch, "I doubt it", she told him curtly, giving him a stony glare before walking off.

Kate didn't think she could deal with these guys all night – everything was getting on top of her, she just wanted to go home and hide away for a week. She was still upset about last night – she couldn't believe how stupid she'd been to go to the hospital. What was she thinking - that she'd go there and Jack would pick her up, twirl her around and profess his undying love for her? Yeah right – those sort of things only happened to other people, not people like her – damaged. There was one good thing to come of it though – for a whole year, deep down she'd been harbouring the hope that Jack was her white knight, her Prince Charming who would one day come and rescue her from this life. But last night was a sign – there was no such thing and she needed to let go and move on.

Taking a deep breath to prevent the tears from falling again she busied herself wiping down the bar, any excuse to stay on this side of the bar, away from the sleazy drunks. Luck however seemed not to be on her side tonight as one of the guys called out to her.

"Hey, can I have a service please?", he slurred, smiling, "…sorry – some service", he added, causing the rest of the guys to crack up.

Not rising to their comments, Kate sighed and made her way over to him. "You want another beer?" she asked him brusquely.

The guy smiled, ogling her chest, "Nah, I think we're good for beer", he told her, "How 'bout a lap dance instead?", he added, grabbing her ass and pulling her between his legs before she had time to react.

Kate struggled trying to break out of his grasp, but he was strong and three times her size, "Let me go!", she ordered, pushing at his chest.

The guy didn't seem to get the hint, "Ah come on sweetheart, I saw the way you were looking at me – you want me!", he added, pulling her closer.

"I want you to let go of me!", Kate yelled, struggling harder. Getting scared, she pulled her leg back as far as she could and kneed him in what she was hoping was the groin but in her position ended up being in the chest. It didn't matter though because the impact startled him enough to cause him to loosen his grip enough for her to break free.

"Bitch!", he yelled, standing up and lunging after her, but this time only succeeding in grabbing her wrist.

"Let go of me!", Kate screamed, trying not to let him see how scared she was. In her panic it took her a moment to notice another arm wrap itself around her stomach. But this time it wasn't forceful - it was delicate. Turning her head, ready to yell at her second would be attacker her words caught in her throat when she saw who it was.

"It's ok", he told her sweetly, giving her a small smile. With one arm wrapped protectively around Kate's stomach, keeping her safely behind him, Jack brought the other back and punched the guy in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and drop his grip on Kate's wrist. Turning back to her he saw how fragile and frightened she looked, her eyes wide and staring. "Are you alright?", he asked her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

At this moment the manager walked into the room and saw the chaos around him. Looking at the guy on the floor then back up at Jack and Kate he huffed and rolled his eyes, "Joan, get your boyfriend out of here – now!", he yelled.

Snapping out of her daze, Kate's looked from her manager back to Jack and grabbing his hand in a death drip, quickly pulled him out of the bar.

Once outside Jack noticed the dramatic change in the weather – there was now a rather heavy, un-seasonal downpour pounding down on them. Looking back at Kate, who still had a vice grip on his had, he realised the weather was the least of his problems – she was shivering and the pain and fear in her eyes made his heart want to break. Already both drenched from the rain he gently pulled her under the porch of the bar in an effort to stop her shivering.

The movement breaking her out of her daze, Kate immediately dropped Jack's hand and averted her gaze, looking anywhere but in his eyes as rogue tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Jack saw her tears and felt a stab of pain in his chest. Reaching out to her he gently tried to embrace her in an effort to comfort her, but she struggled against him, unused to human comfort.

"Kate, Kate – Kate – Kate", he called out to her in a frantic but gentle voice, holding her to his chest.

"Don't, I cant", she sobbed, still struggling.

"Its ok, It's ok. Hey", he soothed, feeling her relax against him. He relaxed his hold on her as she seemed to calm down a bit, pulling back slightly so he could see her face.

"Jack please, this place is crazy", she cried desperately, tears streaking her cheeks, "it's just…and it's drivin' me nuts"

"I know. Its ok, its alright. Its alright", he reassured her soothingly, slightly out of breath, placing his hands on her shoulders and bending down slightly so he was looking directly in her eyes.

Kate looked into his eyes, her tears now subsided, and saw the care and sincerity emanating there. In that moment Kate didn't care that her life was falling apart because he was here – Jack was here and nothing else mattered, and so reaching up and placing her hands on either side of his face she did something she'd wanted to do for the past year. She kissed him. Crushing her lips to his in a desperate but sweet kiss, with the rain crashing down around them it felt right, in a way that nothing had ever felt right before.

Jack was taken by surprise when she kissed him, he hadn't been expecting it but he was more than happy that she had. Standing there with her hands on his face and her lips on his, he was reminded of just how much he had missed her.

Finally pulling away, Kate looking in his eyes again and seeing that they were still closed from the kiss, remembered who she was, why she could never have this, and dropped her hands from his face.

The loss of contact caused Jack to open his eyes and he couldn't help the smile that graced his features remembering the kiss they had just shared. His smile faded however when he saw that the sadness and hurt had returned to her eyes.

Kate averted her gaze, knowing she wouldn't be able to say what needed to say next if she could see his eyes. "I'm sorry I kissed you", she told him in a small voice.

Jack wasn't buying it and saw the stray tear trickle down her cheek as the words left her mouth. Reaching out his hand he gently cupped her cheek and tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. "I'm not", he told her sincerely.

Kate looked at him with sad eyes, "This can't ever be anything Jack…I wish it could but it can't", she told him in a pained voice, "I can't drag you into this – you don't deserve this"

"Hey", Jack told her, his hand still cupping her face and lacing his other hand with hers, "Why don't you let me decide what I deserve. I've missed you so much this past year, and I know that's crazy 'cus we only knew each other for a couple of hours but we have something Kate and I know you feel it too".

"I missed you too", she replied sadly, "…but I can't do this – it'll hurt too much"

"What'll hurt?, Jack asked, confused.

"When I have to leave", she told him.

Jack sighed, "Does it hurt less now?", he asked, stroking her cheek, "walking away, never knowing what might have been?"

Kate dropped her head away from his hand, her skin tingling from his touch. He was right – the thought of walking away from him unbearable. "I've gotta get back to work", she told him, a pleading look in her eyes. She held her hand up to him, seeing that he was about to protest, "Don't worry about those guys – Mike will throw them out, he knows they've crossed the line – he's not a complete bastard", she added, eliciting a small laugh from Jack.

"Just give me a chance Kate", he implored, and seeing that she was about to argue he quickly continued, "One chance that's all I'm asking – just give me one night, let me take you out and if you don't want to see me again after that I'll leave you alone"

Kate's heart broke at the pleading look on his face, "One night?", she asked, still unsure.

"One night", he repeated.

Kate swallowed, "Ok"

Jack let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding "Ok", he sighed, "I'll pick you up here at 6 tomorrow" he added smiling.

Kate nodded and couldn't help but smile back at the look of happiness on his face. "I really should get back", she told him apologetically.

Jack nodded and placed a hand behind her back, gently pulling her towards him, closing his eyes and resting his head on top of hers, "I'll see you tomorrow", he whispered tenderly in her ear before tilting her chin up and placing a chaste kiss to her temple. Smiling he turned to leave, and realising that her fingers were still laced with his, he brought them up to his lips and placed another kiss on the back of her hand before heading into the rain.

"See you tomorrow Jack", Kate replied softly as she watched him drive away.

* * *

_Pleeeease hit the little button and review – I didn't get so many reviews last chapter so I'm starting to worry people are losing interest…so please make my day and drop me a review :) Thanks_

_Next chapter – the long awaited date_

_…_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for the delay – my Internet connection has been driving me crazy!_

_Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, I was really pleased that you enjoyed the last chapter. Here's the long awaited date – hope it lives up to your expectations. Enjoy.

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_

_Jack nodded and placed a hand behind her back, gently pulling her towards him, closing his eyes and resting his head on top of hers, "I'll see you tomorrow", he whispered tenderly in her ear before tilting her chin up and placing a chaste kiss to her temple. Smiling he turned to leave, and realising that her fingers were still laced with his, he brought them up to his lips and placed another kiss on the back of her hand before heading into the rain._

"_See you tomorrow Jack", Kate replied softly as she watched him drive away._

The following night Jack was sitting on a bench just outside the bar as he had promised, nervously drumming his fingers on his thighs as he waited for Kate. Glancing at his watch he saw that it was 6pm and said a silent prayer that she wouldn't stand him up. He was glad he hadn't eaten anything that day as his stomach was churning so much from nerves he was sure any food he had eaten would have been making a reappearance right about now. He felt like a teenager about to go on his first date, rather than a 34-year-old divorcee. He couldn't help it though, just thinking about her made him feel nervous; but he didn't just feel nervous, he felt excited at the same time – and that was a combination of emotions he hadn't felt since he actually was a teenager.

He was brought out of his reminiscence by a warm hand lightly touching his shoulder and what he saw when he turned around was a vision that would be seared into his memory for the rest of his life. Kate stood in front of him in a simple but elegant green summer dress. Jack's jaw dropped a little as he took her in – she was breathtaking and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Hey", she said softly, shyly folding her arms over her stomach, unused to wearing dresses and wondering whether she'd made the right choice.

Jack smiled widely at her, "You're beautiful", he replied sweetly.

Kate blushed at the compliment, but her eyes sparkled with the knowledge that he would think that. "You don't look too bad yourself", she told him, returning his smile, "so, where are we going?", she asked as they walked over to his car, more than a little excited and intrigued about what he had in store for her.

Jack gave her an adorable smile, a slightly mischievous glint in his eyes, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise", he told her whilst holding the passenger door open for her, "trust me."

Kate looked into his eyes as he said the last part, trust – that was something she'd been burned so many times before for giving away too easily, but when he said it she didn't have any doubt in her mind about giving it to him because something inside her told her that he was different, that he wouldn't let her down.

The drive was relatively quiet, a comfortable silence descended on them. Kate had insisted on rolling the roof back on Jack's car – declaring that there was no point in having a convertible if you were going to drive with the roof up, and so now she sat, leaning against the door, a wistful look on her face as the wind slightly blew her curls whilst Jack cast a glance at her every so often trying to convince himself that this was no longer a dream, that she was actually here.

Jack had spent the entire night last night trying to think of the perfect place to take Kate. He had considered a multitude of grand gestures, including dinner at the best restaurant in LA (where you had to book a year in advance to get a table, unless you had contacts) to a tour of the city in a private limo, but somehow none of them seemed right. When he closed his eyes and pictured Kate, there was one place that reminded him of her, and this was the only place he could imagine taking her to tonight.

Pulling up at the top of a rocky hilltop, Kate stepped out of the car and stared in awe at the vista surrounding her, "Jack it's beautiful", she sighed.

Jack smiled at her, "We're not there yet", he told her, holding out his hand for her to take.

Kate gave Jack an intrigued look before entwining her fingers with his, not missing the familiar tingle that ran down her spine whenever he touched her.

"I'm glad you didn't wear heels", Jack said as he began to lead her down a rocky path, "otherwise I would have had to carry you", he added with a grin.

Kate laughed, "Maybe I should have worn them then", she replied, returning his smile.

After much traversing and manoeuvring, they finally reached the bottom. Kate looked around slightly confused – they were standing next to a huge cliff face where the rocks were meeting the ocean.

Jack laughed slightly at her confusion, "Trust me", he told her, taking her hand once again, "oh and you might want to take your shoes off"

Kate's looked even more confused now but she complied none the less. Her expression however changed from one of confusion to one of awe and wonderment as Jack led her through a few inches of water to the other side of the cliff face and she saw the scene in front of her.

They were standing at the mouth of a beautiful little secluded cove, that was shielded from the rest of the world and where the waves were gently lapping at the white sand. Taking a step forward out of the water she noticed that there was a blanket laid out on the sand with a hamper full of food adorning it and candles all around. "Jack…", she sighed, unable to form any words.

Jack smiled, pleased with her reaction, "I hoped you'd like it". He wished he'd brought a camera to capture her reaction, but he knew he would never forget it.

"Like it…Jack this place is amazing – how did you find it?"

"I've been coming here since I was a kid – I kinda found it by accident…I climbed down here when I was 12, I just wanted to be by myself, to get away from things…and I just sort of stumbled upon it. I've been coming here ever since, whenever I just needed some time to think…but you're the first person I've ever brought down here", he told her.

Kate blushed, feeling privileged that he'd chosen to share it with her. "Come on", he smiled, gently pulling her towards the blanket.

Kate's eyes lit up as she surveyed the succulent array of food Jack had prepared. Her stomach rumbled at the sight, reminding her of just how hungry she actually was.

"I didn't know what you liked so I brought a bit of everything", he told her, chuckling lightly as she groaned in delight after taking a bite of the chocolate cake.

"You have to taste this!", she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling like a child on her birthday.

Jack grinned widely; proud that he was the one that had caused her eyes to light up like that and happily allowed her to feed him a bite of the cake.

After laughing and teasing their way through consuming the contents of the hamper, Jack and Kate lay fully sated, side-by-side looking up at the sky. "Thank you", she told him, breaking the silence.

"For what?", he asked.

Kate turned on her side so she was facing him, "For this", she told him, gesturing around, "for all of this. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun. No one's ever done anything like this for me before"

Jack reached out and brushed a stray curl from her face, his fingers lingering longer than needed, "you're welcome", he replied before suddenly jumping up and holding his hand down to her, "may I have this dance?", he asked.

Kate smiled as she pulled herself into a sitting position, "Jack, we don't have any music"

"Who needs music?", he replied, a playful boyish look on his face.

Kate laughed warmly at the beautiful simplicity of the moment, offering him her hand and letting him pull her up. She leaned into his embrace, resting her head on his chest and lacing one set of fingers with his and wrapping the other arm around his back, whilst Jack placed his arm on the base of her spine, holding her to him.

They swayed lightly together to the sound of the waves; both fully contented to just be in each other's arms. Kate had her eyes closed as Jack held her, feeling happy and safe in his arms. "What made you think to come here tonight Jack?", she asked softly.

Jack smiled against her hair, "Ever since I met you, this place just reminds me of you", he explained. Kate leant back slightly so she could see his face, giving him an inquisitive look. "…it's hidden from the world, and it's the most beautiful place on earth, but because its hidden, it's true beauty's not appreciated…except by me", he added, smiling shyly at having laid his emotions so bare.

Kate didn't know what to say, no one had ever described her as beautiful before. She couldn't believe how fast she'd fallen for Jack again, but then again she realised there was no 'again' – she'd fallen for him when they were held hostage in the bank a year ago, and those feelings had never actually gone away. Although she knew this, she couldn't bring herself to say, or even think those three little words, because admitting them only ever lead to heartbreak. But looking in his eyes as he said those words, all she wanted was to stay there with him forever.

Jack looked at her looking back up at him with a mixture of happiness, longing, sadness, a tiny glimmer of hope and maybe a flicker of what he didn't let himself dare to believe – love.

Felling like there were a million butterflies fluttering around in his stomach, he gently lowered his head and grazed her lips with his in a feather light kiss. Opening his eyes, he searched hers for any sign that she didn't want this, and when he found none he captured her lips again in the sweetest of kisses. Whilst the other two kisses they had shared were passionate and desperate, this time it was not without passion but it was more slow and sensual, exploring each other's mouths knowing that they didn't have to rush. Feeling Kate wrap her arms around his neck, Jack wrapped both arms around her back, wanting to be as close as possible to her. He ran his tongue along her lips, begging for entrance, which she willingly granted him, her tongue now dancing a lover's dance with his.

Finally pulling away, when the need for air became too much, Kate smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling more than ocean, and placed another chaste kiss to his lips. "Look", she said, her smile growing even more as she pointed out to the horizon, "the sun's about to set".

Turning around so she was facing the ocean, she felt Jack's arms snake around her stomach, holding her to him. She relaxed into his embrace, leaning her head on his chest, not willing for there to be any distance between them, "It's amazing", she sighed.

"Yeah, yeah it is", Jack agreed, but he wasn't looking at the sunset.

They stayed like that, watching as the sky slowly changed from day to night, the only light now coming from the moon's romantic illumination. Turning back around, but staying in Jack's embrace, Kate looked at him with a serious expression on her face, "You know, there's something we've forgotten", she told him.

"What's that?", he asked

"This", she replied, pushing him backwards so that he was now sitting in six inches of water, "You can't come to the beach and not go swimming", she explained, trying to keep a straight face, but failing when she saw Jack's shocked expression.

Kate giggled as Jack's expression changed from shocked to mischievous as he stood back up. She screamed in between laughing as she took off down the beach as Jack began to chase her. Not really averse to the idea of Jack catching her, she didn't put too much effort into getting away and so burst into another fit of happy laughter as he grabbed her from behind, picking her up and twirling her around as the waves lapped at his feet. He began walking deeper into the water, the mischievous glint still glistening in his eyes. Looking around she realised what he was doing and wrapped her arms around his neck so he couldn't let her go. "Jack, No! – You wouldn't dare!" she exclaimed, but couldn't keep the smile off her face as she said it.

"Wouldn't I?", he replied, returning her smile, before plunging them both into the water. Whilst under the water, Kate still had her arms around Jack's neck so leaning in he couldn't resist placing a quick kiss on her lips before resurfacing. Standing back up Jack couldn't help but laugh, as Kate was now the one with the shocked expression on her face. "It was your idea for a swim", he told her innocently.

"I can't believe you did that" she told him, but couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.

As Jack took her hand and lead her out of the water, both were trying not to notice how the other's wet clothes clung to their bodies. Back on the sand they stood grinning at each other like naughty school children until Jack noticed Kate begin to shiver, "You're cold", he stated, placing an arm around her, "we can go back to my apartment, get you warmed up – it's not far from here"

Kate gave him a grateful smile, the familiar concern he showed her, touching her heart once more. She knew the longer she spent with him, the harder it was going to be to say goodbye but she couldn't face the thought of the evening ending just yet.

On the drive back Kate didn't mind having the roof up this time, as she was actually rather cold. She looked at him and smiled, trying to put across to him how grateful she was that he had done this for her and how much she had enjoyed it. No words were needed, as Jack understood completely, returning her smile.

Once back at Jack's apartment Kate surveyed her new surroundings, clearly impressed – it was huge, if a little bare, and obviously very expensive. She felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder as Jack came up behind her.

"Hey", he said softly, "I got you some dry clothes to change into – if you give me yours I'll put them in the dryer", he added, handing her one of his tee-shirts and a pair of basketball shorts.

"Thanks", she told him warmly.

"I know they're a bit big but I don't want you catching pneumonia", he told her, smiling.

Kate laughed lightly, touched at his constant concern for her, "They're great, thanks Jack" she replied, "where's the bathroom?"

"Oh, it's just down the corridor on the right", he told her, pointing past the kitchen.

Kate smiled at him in response before heading to the bathroom. Emerging a few minutes later she was wearing the oversized clothes, although she didn't mind because they were Jack's and they surrounded her with his scent. She made her way into the kitchen where she found Jack, now dressed in a dry pair of jeans and a sleeveless top, standing at the counter, "Here", he said, handing her a cup of steaming hot chocolate and taking her wet clothes from her. He couldn't help but smile as she came out of the bathroom, feeling a surge of male pride that she was wearing his clothes.

"Thanks", she replied, taking the cup from him.

"Sit down", he offered, motioning towards the living room, "I'll be there in a minute", he added, loading her clothes into the dryer.

Sitting down on the couch she took a sip of the hot chocolate and sighed – it was a million times better than what she served at the café. She put the cup down on the coffee table as Jack sat down next to her. "You make the best hot chocolate", she told him, eliciting a laugh from him. She leant back against his chest as he placed his arm along the back of the couch and felt him relax against her. She felt safe, loved and also nervous – but nervous in a good way, when he was near her and she just wished this night would last forever.

She closed her eyes and suppressed a yawn as she laid her head in the crook of his neck, the excitement of the past few days catching up with her. Jack reached up and stroked her face as he brushed the curls off of her face and smiled as he realized she had fallen asleep. Reaching out carefully with his free arm, not wanting to wake her, he pulled the throw over her, placing a light kiss to the top of her head and wrapping his arm around her as he too allowed himself to sleep.

Kate woke a few hours later slightly confused as she looked around, but then remembered she was in Jack's apartment. She smiled as she recalled their time at the beach – she'd had such an amazing time with him - she'd never had so much fun and laughed so much with anyone. Turning her head she saw that Jack was still asleep and looking at him so peaceful she felt a piercing pain in her heart at what she was about to do. She'd had the best night of her life tonight, but it was because he'd awoken so many feelings within her that she couldn't stay – because she knew if she did she would never be able to leave, and if Wayne found her, he'd hurt Jack and she couldn't live with herself if he got hurt because of her. So however much she wished she could stay lying in his arms forever, she had to go, to protect him.

Swallowing the lump that was building in her throat she gently pulled the cover off them and slid from under his arm, trying her best not to wake him. Looking down at him she placed one last kiss on his forehead, a tear slipping down her cheek as she did it. "I'm so sorry", she whispered hoarsely, "I wish I could stay", she added, turning towards the door, her resolve breaking every second she stayed with him. With her hand on the door handle she stopped, wanting just one last look at him before she left. Turning back around she took a deep breath as she saw that he was no longer asleep but standing there staring at her with a pained expression on his face. Her tears were now freely flowing down her cheeks and she couldn't speak, afraid that if she did she would just break down completely. She looked at him, trying to convey that this was not what she wanted but it was just the way her life had to be. She saw the same emotions she was feeling reflected on his face as he looked at her with those big brown sad eyes. She couldn't take it any longer, seeing the pain she was causing him so she dropped her gaze and with every ounce of strength she could find, she left him standing there staring at an empty doorway.

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_Hope you liked it, I know it's cruel to leave it there but don't despair – this is not the end of the story - they haven't seen the last of each other!_

_Please please please drop me a review – you're thoughts and opinions really are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks._


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you once again to everyone who reviewed. I know it was cruel to leave it where I did, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it…_

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_She couldn't take it any longer, seeing the pain she was causing him so she dropped her gaze and with every ounce of strength she could find, she left him standing there staring at an empty doorway._

Jack stared at his open door – a symbol that Kate was no longer there. Swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat he dropped his gaze, unable to look at it any longer. Stepping out onto his balcony he leant on the railings and placed his head in his hands. He couldn't believe she'd gone – he was sure that after tonight she'd give them a chance, but maybe it meant more to him than it did to her he realised sadly. This past year he'd lived in hope that she'd come and find him, that there was still a chance for them, but it was different now – he'd found her but she'd still left. It was over now – he'd promised her that if after tonight she didn't want to see him again he'd leave her alone, and that was obviously what she wanted. Jack sighed, a traitorous tear rolling down his cheek, the thought of never seeing her again too much to comprehend. He wasn't sure if he believed in soul mates but he knew that if there were such a thing, Kate was his, because living without her was like living without a vital organ – he couldn't function properly.

"Is there room for one more out there?"

Jack was startled out of his misery by the sound of the sweetest voice, a voice he would never tire of hearing. At first he thought he'd imagined it, his mind tormenting him, but turning around his breath caught in his throat. "Kate?", he questioned hoarsely, still choked up with emotion.

Kate looked at him and saw the pain she had caused him – his eyes were so sad it actually hurt to look at them, but she could still see a hint of that familiar glimmer of hope that was always there when he looked at her. She'd watched that glimmer disappear as he watched her leave and it felt like a slice to the heart, but now, even after she'd hurt him so badly, he still had hope in his eyes when he looked at her. "Hey", she replied nervously.

"You came back" he stated, still not quite believing that this was real.

"I couldn't leave", she replied, her voice breaking, "I got to the bottom of the stairs and I couldn't go any further", she added, her eyes watering up.

Jack was frozen – his head hurt from so many conflicting emotions fighting for dominance. She'd come back – Kate had come back and he was just standing there staring at her. He finally snapped out of it when he saw she was about to cry and pulled her into his embrace, holding her tightly against him. He held her head to his chest and stroked her back gently with his other hand whilst whispering soothing words of comfort into her ear as she let the tears flow.

Kate wrapped her arms tightly around Jack, clinging to the back of his shirt as if it were a lifeline, "I'm so sorry", she sobbed.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for", he replied tenderly.

Jack held her until her sobs began to subside, wanting to take away all of the pain and heartache that she was carrying around with her but not knowing how, and so hopefully by holding her she would know that he would be there for her in any way she needed.

After calming down somewhat, Kate loosened her vice grip on Jack's shirt, pulling back slightly so she could see his face. "Sorry", she repeated, smiling shyly at him, slightly embarrassed at having broken down on him again.

"Stop apologising!", he replied, chuckling lightly and offering her one of his adorable smiles.

Kate laughed also at his response, her torrent of tears now relinquished. Jack looked into her eyes and saw that the sadness that was previously there had been replaced with the happiness he had had the pleasure of seeing whilst they were at the beach.

"You didn't answer my question", she told him, her voice no longer cracked with emotion.

Jack frowned, unsure of what question he was supposed to have answered.

"Is there room for one more out there?", she asked tentatively.

Jack didn't miss the double meaning to her question – she wasn't just referring to the balcony, she was asking if there was still space in his life for her. In response he took her hand and pulled her onto the balcony with him, "Always", he replied, cupping her face and stroking her cheek with his thumb.

Kate looked at him, at the absolute sincerity in his eyes and had never felt surer about anything in her whole life. Reaching up she pulled his head down to hers and crushed her lips to his as she tried to convey to him how she felt and how much she wanted this.

Standing together, under the moonlit sky, they explored each other's mouths once more, enjoying the intimacy of the moment and relieved to be in each other's arms once again. The kiss deepened, both wanting to be even closer to each other and a shiver ran down Kate's spine as a moan of satisfaction escaped from Jack's throat.

Begrudgingly pulling away when she began to feel light headed, both from lack of oxygen and the intensity of the kiss, she sighed happily as he leant his forehead on hers. Looking up at him she couldn't believe that that this wonderful man was standing in front of her.

Jack felt shivers run through his body as he looked at her looking at him with absolute trust and adoration in her eyes. He knew that she had been burned in the past and the fact that she had given him her trust made his heart swell. The depth of feeling he had for this woman was indescribable, "Kate I lo-"

Kate placed a finger on his lips, preventing him from completing that sentence. Even though she could feel it inside, her heart was unwilling to accept such a declaration again. When she saw the look of confusion on his face she moved her finger from his lips and placed her hand on his cheek, pulling his head down to meet her in another mind-blowing kiss.

Kate wrapped her arms around Jack's neck; her body now flush against his. She still wasn't close enough though – she wanted to be even closer. Without breaking the kiss, Kate gently tugged Jack back through the window and into his bedroom.

Jack was so caught up in the kiss that he didn't notice their change in location until Kate began pulling at his belt buckle. Opening his eyes he saw that they were no longer on the balcony but instead were in front of his bed. He was in no way averse to what she was intending, his body's response to the idea probably confirmation of that, but he had to be sure that this was what she really wanted because if they did this and she ended up regretting it, he would never forgive himself. He stilled her actions, tilting her chin up so he could see her face, "Are you sure?", he asked, slightly breathlessly, searching her eyes for any signs of apprehension but finding none.

Kate smiled warmly at him, touched by his consideration of her over his own needs. She wanted him – more than anything. "I've never been surer", she told him, "make love to me Jack", she added tenderly as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

Jack needed no more encouragement and joined her in a delicate but passionate kiss as Kate pulled him down on top of her.

With the moonlight illuminating their bodies, no more words were spoken, only breathless moans and impassioned cries emanated through the room as they got to know each other in the most intimate of ways and achieved that ultimate closeness both so desperately desired.

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_There you go, I thought there was a need for a bit of fluff after all of the angst so hope you enjoyed it! Oh yeah, pleeeeeeeeeeaase review and let me know what you thought. Thanks._

_Next chapter – the morning after… _


	9. Chapter 9

_Apologies for the lack of updates lately – I'm in my 1st year at Uni and exams are kind of taking over my life at the moment. Anyway they will be over soon – cant wait, so hopefully I will be able to update more regularly._

_Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate your comments.

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_

_With the moonlight illuminating their bodies, no more words were spoken, only breathless moans and impassioned cries emanated through the room as they got to know each other in the most intimate of ways and achieved that ultimate closeness both so desperately desired._

Jack awoke to the unfamiliar feeling of a warm body pressed against him. Turning his head he smiled at the sight that beheld him – Kate was lying next to him, looking more peaceful than he had ever seen her, with one arm draped across his chest and her legs intertwined with his. He couldn't believe he was actually waking up with Kate – it was just like how it was in so many of his dreams, and if this was a dream he never wanted to wake up. He stayed as still as he could, wanting to enjoy this moment for as long as possible. She looked especially beautiful when she was sleeping, her guard completely down she looked content and happy. Jack's smile grew even wider as he recalled last night's events. He couldn't put it into words how amazing it felt to make love to her; he was no virgin but he had never experienced anything so intense, or felt as close to anyone as he did to her. Looking at her sleeping form he knew he would do anything for her, whenever she fell he'd be there to catch her. "I love you", he whispered, so quietly he barely heard it himself. Wanting to feel her skin under his fingers again, he gently reached out and cupped her face, lightly stroking her cheek, which caused her to stir.

Kate awoke sleepily and was met by two deep brown penetrating eyes staring lovingly into her own, and the owner of those beautiful eyes was making her face tingle by gently stroking it. "Hey", she sighed, her voice husky from sleep.

"Hey", he replied softly, leaning over and placing a delicate kiss on her lips, "I thought you were gunna sleep all day"

Kate smiled at him, a cheeky glint in her eyes, "Well, I was kinda tired".

Jack chuckled, "I didn't mind – you're beautiful when you're asleep", he told her sweetly, placing a kiss on the end of her nose "…and you're not bad when you're awake either", he whispered cheekily in her ear, earning a laugh and a playful swat on the arm from Kate.

Rolling back onto his back, Jack placed his arm around Kate's shoulders, pulling her into him so her head was rested on his chest. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and lightly ran his fingers up and down her arm.

In her new position Kate could hear the strong and steady beat of Jack's heart, a sound that comforted her in a way she didn't know was possible. She let out a contented sigh as she placed her arm across his torso, holding him to her. "Can we really do this Jack?", she asked tentatively, "it scares me how much I care about you, and if I couldn't leave last night I can't imagine how hard it's gunna be if I have to leave a year from now, 3 years from now. I don't want to hurt you", she added, looking up at him.

"Kate you don't have to run, I'll never let anybody hurt you", he told her sincerely, "We can do this, we have something amazing here – ever since I met you there hasn't been a single day when I haven't thought about you…I want to be with you Kate"

Kate felt her eyes water up at his words, "I want to be with you too Jack…I can't promise you forever, but I can promise you I want forever", she told him, giving him a sad smile, wishing more than anything that she could promise him forever.

Jack gave her a small smile in response, happy that she was willing to give him a chance, "Just promise me one more thing", he told her, "promise me that if you're gunna run you'll tell me, don't just go because that would kill me"

Kate's heart broke at the frightened look in his eyes and she reached up and closed her eyes, placing a kiss on his temple, "I promise", she told him honestly, before laying her head back down on his chest.

"Do you have to be in work today?", Jack asked.

"Yeah", Kate sighed, "I'm working at the café today, but not until this afternoon"

"You know the offer to work at the hospital's still open", he told her, "Or if you don't want to work in admin I can help you find something else – what did you want to be when you were a kid?"

Kate smiled, "When I was little I wanted to be just like my dad – my real dad, Sam – he was a general in the army and I wanted to go and fight the bad guys like he did" she told him, "I kind of grew out of that idea when I saw how it got to him though. After he left I got quite into art – I could draw for hours and lose myself in it and I'd forget about all of my problems for a while. I still do it even now – when I have the time, its kind of an escape", she added, a wistful look on her face.

Jack gave her a thoughtful look, "I might just be able to help you with that", he told her, smiling, "my best friend – Marc, his sister runs a small art gallery not far from here, she's really nice, I'm sure she'd be able to help you out", he added, feeling proud of himself for maybe getting her out of that awful bar.

Kate smiled against his chest, "Thanks Jack, but you've already done enough for me, I couldn't ask you to do that"

"It's nothing, and I want to do it. I'll get Marc to have a word", he told her, "Oh and speaking of Marc, he wanted to know if you have a sister", he added smiling.

"A sister?", Kate asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah…apparently he's going through a dry spell at the moment", Jack explained, rolling his eyes and earning a laugh from Kate.

"You have interesting friends", she replied, settling back down against him.

Jack chuckled, pulling her closer against him. A rather loud growl coming from Kate's stomach broke the silence, "Hungry?" Jack asked, amused.

Kate propped herself up on her elbow so she was looking down at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Yeah" she replied, leaning down towards his face, "but not for food", she added against his lips, before closing the gap, kissing him softly.

Jack's eyes darkened with desire as he rolled them over so he was on top, "So what would you be in the mood for?" he whispered against her lips, lightly touching them with every word.

Kate felt shivers run through her body at the look in his eyes. It was one that she had seen many a time that night but that never failed to excite every fibre in her body with anticipation of what was to come. "This" she stated, pulling him roughly down onto her and into a fiercely passionate kiss. She ran her tongue along his lips, but before it could deepen any further she froze having heard what sounded like a chair being knocked over in the living room, followed by a curse. "Jack", she whispered, holding onto him tightly.

Jack looked from his bedroom door back to Kate and saw how scared she looked, her eyes wide and frightened. He looked back to his door shaking his head, "Don't worry" he told her, stroking her face, "its not a burglar – he's just here for food" he added, eliciting a confused look from Kate, "Looks like you'll get to meet Marc sooner than you thought".

Pulling his discarded jeans back on Jack opened the door and went into the living room. Marc was bent over, rubbing his shin and looked up at Jack as he entered the room.

"Dude, you shouldn't leave that thing there", he stated, referring to the picnic basket Jack and Kate had used on the beach, "it's a health hazard"

"Yeah sorry, I should have realised you might trip over it when you come to steal my food", Jack told him mock apologetically.

Marc placed his hand over his heart, feigning hurt, "Is that all you think of me man? I didn't actually come for your food, I came to check on your Cinderella status – you found your princess yet?"

Jack shot a quick look over at his bedroom, which didn't go un-noticed by Marc, who shot him a knowing look. "Congrats man, I didn't think you had it in you", he joked, playfully punching Jack on the arm. "Seriously dude, I'm happy for you".

"Thanks man", Jack replied, unable to stop the smile forming on his lips.

"So do I get to meet her", Marc asked, "or have you worn her out?", he joked.

As if sensing that she was the topic of conversation, Kate emerged from the bedroom, now dressed again in Jack's shirt and basketball shorts. "Hey", she said shyly, tucking a curl behind her ear as she made her way over to the two men.

Standing next to Jack, Kate looked up at his friend and a look of realisation passed across both of their faces as they realised they had already met.

"You're Marc", "You're Kate", they said in unison.

Jack looked between the two, slightly confused, "Have you two met?" he asked.

"I thought there was something familiar about you at the hospital" Marc added, smiling, "must have been down to Jack's incredibly detailed description of you"

Kate blushed and smiled shyly at him. Jack frowned, still feeling out of the loop, "You were at the hospital?" he asked, looking at Kate.

"Erm…yeah" Kate replied, slightly embarrassed "the night before you came to the bar, I went to see you but you weren't there…probably because you were in Santa Monica looking for me", she added, laughing lightly at the irony of it.

Jack smiled at her, touched that she had gone looking for him too.

"Yeah she's lethal man" Marc said, interrupting the moment, "nearly knocked me over – sent my notes flying!" he added, smiling and gesturing with his hands.

"Yeah sorry about that", Kate smiled sheepishly, causing Jack to laugh at Marc's obvious exaggerations.

"So Kate, did Jack tell you it was my idea to find you?" Marc asked, smiling proudly.

"It was not your idea" Jack argued.

"Don't listen to him Kate, if it wasn't for me he'd still be pining into his cappuccino", Marc stated, "You did a real number on him you know, he hasn't even looked at another woman since he met you", he added, placing a bagel into the toaster.

"I thought you didn't come for food" Jack replied, blushing furiously and trying to change the subject. Kate however found it endearing and sweet that he had never forgotten about her, and slipped her hand into his as a sign of affection.

"I didn't" Marc replied, "but a man's gotta eat".

Kate chuckled at Marc's response; she could tell she was going to like him.

* * *

1 month later

Marc had talked to his sister, who was more than happy to help Kate out. Kate had quit her jobs at the café and at the bar and now worked 5 days a week at the gallery. She loved working there and found that she was a natural. She clicked straight away with Marc's sister – Emily and loved having a friend that she could just talk to about girly things – something she hadn't had since before she left home. She also liked the fact that she was getting paid almost double what she earned from her other two jobs put together.

As the gallery was only 2 blocks away from Jack's apartment, Kate was spending less and less time at her motel room. Jack had tentatively suggested that she stay with him for a while, as it was a waste of money to pay for a motel room that she wasn't using. He had reasoned that it would be more convenient for work and that now she was earning more she could rent a place nearby and stay with him until she found a place. He didn't want to scare her by suggesting that they move in together permanently and thought that his reasoning would seem like a practical solution to her. He loved every second of having her around though, so he was in no hurry for her to find a place of her own, and to his relief, Kate didn't seem particularly interested in looking either. So for the past 2 weeks Kate had been living with Jack, although whenever it was mentioned she was 'staying' with him, not living. Jack didn't mind though because he got to wake up with her in the morning and go to sleep with her at night, and he would always look forward to the end of his shift because when he got home he would always find Kate sitting on the couch waiting for him, reading a magazine, watching TV or sleeping if he was late.

Kate was at the gallery putting out some new pieces when Emily came over to her.

"Hey could you lock up tonight?" Emily asked, "Ryan – that guy I told you about, he's taking me out", she added excitedly.

Kate smiled, happy that her friend was so excited, "Yeah sure" Kate told her, laughing lightly when Emily hugged her in appreciation, "you go on, I'll be fine".

"Thanks Kate, you're the best", Emily replied, "Ahh I've only got like 3 hours and I don't even know what to wear!", she added, starting to panic.

Kate placed a reassuring hand on Emily's shoulder, "Em, you'll look great whatever you wear", she told her encouragingly, "but if you cant decide – wear the blue dress, he won't be able to keep his eyes off you"

"Thank you", Emily replied, hugging Kate again, "I'll give you all the details tomorrow", she added, winking, causing Kate to laugh.

"Have fun", Kate told her as she hurried out the door.

Kate finished setting up the display and looked at her watch to see that it was nearly 9pm. She was always amazed at how quickly the time went by when she was working here – it was so different to Michael's where she would stare at the clock, pleading with it to speed up.

Grabbing her keys, she made sure everything was switched off before locking up and walking back to Jack's. She couldn't believe how much her life had changed in the space of a month and smiled as she realised she couldn't remember the last time she was this happy. So caught up in her daydream, Kate didn't notice that the old silver car that was parked outside of the gallery pulled up opposite Jack's apartment just as she got back.

Humming to herself as she took out her keys, Kate opened the door and was met by Jack walking towards her. "Hey" she said, happily, reaching up and kissing him slowly on the lips.

"Mmm hey", he replied, smiling, kissing her again when she pulled away.

"Are you going out?" she asked, noticing he was wearing his jacket.

"Yeah, I was going to get some wine and some take out" he replied, "I thought we could have a quiet night" he added, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

"Mmm sounds perfect", she replied, giving him another quick kiss.

"You put your feet up and I'll be back before you know it", he told her before heading out the door.

Kate let out a contented sigh as she put on a CD and hummed along to the relaxing tune. A knock at the door caught her attention and she shook her head, smiling as she made her way over to the door. "Forgotten your keys?" she asked affectionately as she turned the handle, but opening the door her smile quickly faded and her heart slammed in her chest as she saw that it was not Jack.

* * *

_Next chapter – who was at the door and what will happen to Kate?_

_Please drop me a review guys, I'm starting to wonder where my readers have gone. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the fic and any suggestions of things you would like incorporated. Thanks._


	10. Chapter 10

_Hey guys thank you so much for all of your positive feedback and suggestions. Here's the next chapter – it's darker than the last few chapters but I hope you like it.

* * *

_

_Kate let out a contented sigh as she put on a CD and hummed along to the relaxing tune. A knock at the door caught her attention and she shook her head, smiling as she made her way over to the door. "Forgotten your keys?" she asked affectionately as she turned the handle, but opening the door her smile quickly faded and her heart slammed in her chest as she saw that it was not Jack._

"Hello Katie", Wayne sneered, smiling sadistically.

Kate grabbed hold of the door and slammed it as hard as she could, her survival instincts kicking in after so many years of running from this man. Unfortunately Wayne sensed what she was about to do and wedged his foot in between the doorframe and the door before it could shut. He wrestled with the door pushing it back open, that extra 80 pounds he had on her, overpowering her. "Now that's no way to treat your father is it?", he leered.

Kate grimaced from the potent stench of alcohol on his breath and stepped backwards until she was blocked by a wall. "You're not my father!" she yelled, trying not to let him see how scared she was.

Wayne just laughed in response, his eyes sparkling menacingly. "Told you I'd find you didn't I Katie" he slurred, "You couldn't run from me forever", he added, grabbing her face roughly.

Kate could feel her heart pounding between her ears. The nightmare she had been running from all these years was now playing out before her eyes. But even if she hadn't realised, those years of running, of surviving by herself had made her stronger. "Stop calling me that!" she demanded, shoving his hand away from her face with a strength and authority she didn't know she possessed.

A brief look of shock passed over his face at Kate standing up to him, but it didn't deter him. "Come on Katie" he continued, ignoring her demand, "I haven't seen you for years – we got some catching up to do" he added, placing a hand on the wall beside her, preventing her from escaping, and running the other along her arm.

The look in his eyes chilled her to the core and left her in no doubt about what he meant. She felt like she was going to be sick, the memories of her childhood coming flooding back to her. She jerked away from his touch and struggled to get away but Wayne blocked her when he placed his other hand on the wall, effectively trapping her. As he began to lean towards her, something inside of her snapped – she was not that helpless little girl anymore, she'd rather die than let him do that to her again. As he pushed her further into the wall she brought her knee up with as much force as she could manage given her cramped position and connected with him, eliciting a satisfying crunch.

It had the desired effect as it knocked Wayne off balance and caused him to double over slightly in pain. "Little bitch!" he spat hatefully.

With Wayne momentarily no longer caging her against the wall, Kate grasped the opportunity and bolted towards the door. Grabbing the door handle she yanked it open. Having only made one step outside she felt Wayne roughly grab her wrist and wrenched her back around with a menacing force. A thundering pain shot through her arm as she felt a sickening pop as her shoulder was ripped from its socket. She screwed her eyes shut and clamped her teeth together trying to block out the pain and unwilling to let him see that he had hurt her.

"You're gunna pay for that!" he told her wickedly as the back of his hand connected with her cheek, knocking her to the ground.

* * *

Jack backed off of his drive, a contented smile gracing his features. Even though he spent every night with her he always rushed home from work so he could get an extra few minutes with her, and the moment he was away from her he missed her like crazy. He'd never been this happy and he knew that Kate was the sole reason behind his happiness. He was in love with her – he'd known that for a long time but he'd never admitted it in so many words to her, afraid that she would get scared and run. Instead he hoped his actions would convey to her how much he cared for her, but tonight he wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her more than anything in this life and that she didn't need to run anymore because he would do anything to protect her.

He was about to turn out of his street when he realised he didn't have his wallet - when he'd changed he'd forgotten to take it out of his pocket. "Damn" he cursed, doing a u-turn and driving back to his apartment.

* * *

Kate brought her hand away from her face, finding it streaked with blood and realised it was coming from a cut above her eye. She looked up at Wayne and saw him looking at her with pure evil and hatred in his eyes, and scooted backwards holding her injured arm as he advanced on her.

Wayne laughed at her desperate attempts to escape. "You can't get away from me Katie, so why don't you be a good little girl and stay quiet – just like old times" he leered, leaning down so she could feel his breath on her face.

"Stay the hell away from me!" Kate screamed.

Wayne smiled evilly, "You never did like to do things the easy way – hard way it is then" he told her, "You asked for it" he added, bringing his fist back.

Kate closed her eyes, preparing for impact. 'Jack!' she pleaded silently as she waited for the punch.

* * *

Jack pointed his key at his car, pressing the lock button as he jogged back up the stairs to his apartment. Nearing the top he got a strange feeling inside of him that he couldn't quite place. Almost at his apartment he knew something was wrong, as his front door was wide open. 'I didn't leave it like that' he thought, 'and Kate would have closed it if she'd gone out'.

Jack's heart skipped a beat as he heard a voice coming from inside that definitely wasn't Kate's.

"You never did like to do things the easy way – hard way it is then. You asked for it" 

Jack went into autopilot, knowing that Kate was in danger; he bolted through the door into the living room and felt anger shoot through his veins at the sight before him. Kate was huddled on the floor, blood dripping down her face as a guy stood over her, fist drawn back ready to hit her. "Hey!" he yelled, catching Wayne's attention, "you lay another finger on her and I swear to God I will kill you", he added in a calm but deathly threatening manner.

Wayne dropped his fist and smirked at Kate, who had opened her eyes when she heard Jack's voice "This your little boyfriend Katie?", he asked, "I wouldn't get too attached though – you're only good for one thing, and you're not even very good at tha-" he added, but didn't get to finish as he was tackled to the ground by Jack.

Jack straddled him, pinning his arms so he couldn't move. He never thought himself capable of murder but after seeing what this bastard had done to Kate, he knew that he could snap his neck right then and there without an ounce of remorse. "You son of a bitch" he growled, bringing his fist back and smashing it into Wayne's face.

"She aint worth it", Wayne jibed, spitting out some blood from his split lip.

Jack snapped, not caring if he killed him as his fist connected with Wayne's face, over and over again. He would have carried on until he had killed him, making sure he could never hurt the woman he loved ever again, had it not been for Kate placing a light hand on his shoulder, halting his torrent of punches.

"Jack", she whispered timidly.

The look on her face broke Jack's heart – she looked so broken and frightened. Looking back at the guy on the floor he saw that he was out cold, and satisfied that he wouldn't be going anywhere he stepped away from him and gently cupped Kate's face, lightly stroking her bruised and bloodied cheek. To his relief she didn't flinch away from him, instead she just looked at him with sad eyes.

"Its ok" he told he softly, "he can't hurt you anymore"

Kate looked down at Wayne, her eyes wide, convinced that he was going to get up any minute and hurt her again.

Jack sensed her fear, "Come on", he said, giving her a small smile, taking her hand and gently pulling her over to the couch. To his surprise however, she let out a yelp of pain as he moved her arm. Snapping his head back to her, he looked at her, concern evident on his face.

"My shoulder" she told him quietly, holding it protectively with her other arm, "I think he dislocated it"

Jack sucked in a deep breath, knowing how painful a dislocation was. "Bastard!" he cursed under his breath. "Sorry", he added, realising that angry outbursts probably weren't what she needed to be hearing right now. "Sit down" he coaxed gently, "I'm gunna call the police and then I'm gunna drive you to the hospital – we need to get your arm looked at, and that cut" he added, lightly inspecting her face with his hand.

Kate just nodded numbly, the realisation of what had just happened starting to sink in. it felt surreal, like she was watching it happen to someone else. She snapped out of it as she heard Jack giving their address to the police and turned to face him as he hung up the phone, instantly regretting it as a searing pain shot through her shoulder at the movement.

Jack saw the look of pain on her face and was at her side in an instant, kneeling in front of her so he was at eye level, looking her over with concern, "Hey, Kate it's ok, I'm here, is it your shoulder?" he asked tenderly.

Kate opened her eyes to be met with Jack looking at her with a worried look on his face, "Yeah" she croaked out, "Jack please you gotta help me – please" she begged.

Jack took a deep breath, realising what she wanted him to do, "you want me to set your shoulder?" he asked.

"Yeah" Kate told him, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Kate…"he replied, unsure that it was the best idea, "it's gunna hurt" he added.

"I know – but when it's done it wont hurt as much. I trust you" she added, giving him a smile to show that she meant it.

Jack gave her a small smile back, happy that she trusted him but anxious about the fact that he was going to cause her pain. "Ok" he told her, "It'll hurt – a lot, but only for a second" he added, wanting to prepare her. Kate nodded so he continued, "I want you to tense yourself so you don't move forward – I'm gunna take your hand and on the count of 3 I'm gunna pull as hard as I can, ok?"

"Ok" Kate replied.

"Ok", Jack echoed, giving her a reassuring smile, "Ready?" he asked, taking her hand.

"Yeah" Kate replied.

"Ok, one, two…" Jack counted, and then pulled her arm as hard as he could, hearing the unmistakable pop of her shoulder returning to its socket.

Kate screwed her eyes shut as an excruciating pain shot up her arm, and clamped her teeth together to suppress her screams. After taking a few deep breaths she opened her eyes and realised that the pain had subsided and was now more of a large ache.

"I'm sorry" Jack apologised, looking at her with a sympathetic look on his face.

Kate pushed herself off the couch so she was kneeling in front of him and leant into his embrace, wrapping her good arm around his neck. "I thought you said on three" she teased lightly, "You've got nothing to be sorry for" she told him repeating the words he'd said to her all those weeks ago.

Jack felt moisture on his neck and realised she was crying. He wrapped his arms around her waist and traced small circles on her back whilst whispering soothing words in her ear, "It's alright" he told her, "It's gunna be alright – I promise"

* * *

_There you go, so what did you think? Please drop me a review – I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks. _

_Exams have now officially started groan, but I will update as often as I can._

_Next chapter – will Kate be alright?_


	11. Chapter 11

_I'm back to Uni tonight then I have yet another exam tomorrow…then again the next day (sighs!) but I had to post this next chapter to give myself a break from the monotony of studying. Hope you like it!_

_(Oh and Zille, thanks for the idea…you'll see what I mean by the end of the chapter)_

_Btw, the promos for the finale look amazing – I can't wait!

* * *

_

Jack felt moisture on his neck and realised she was crying. He wrapped his arms around her waist and traced small circles on her back whilst whispering soothing words in her ear, "It's alright" he told her, "It's gunna be alright – I promise"

When the police had arrived, Wayne had been escorted to the hospital with the assurance that he would not leave their sight and that he would be arrested as soon as he came around. Jack had wanted to take Kate to the hospital straight away but the police had insisted they give statements first. He had protested, arguing that Kate needed medical attention but she had softly assured him that she was ok. He was not happy about it and figured it had a lot to do with her not wanting to be in the same hospital as Wayne.

After what seemed like an eternity of questions, Jack became frustrated and demanded that he be allowed to take Kate to the hospital now. The police officers shot him a sympathetic smile, seeing his evident concern for the woman sitting next to him, and agreed, thanking them both for their co-operation.

Before leaving, Jack had asked which hospital Wayne had been taken to. As St Sebastian's was not the nearest to where they were, he had not been taken there and so Jack decided that that was the best place to go.

Kate was quiet the whole ride there and Jack shot worried glances at her every so often to make sure that she was ok. Arriving at the hospital, he reassured her once again that Wayne was not here, which seemed to appease her slightly as she shot him a small smile as he opened the door for her to get out.

"Ok, you stay here while I go and get a doctor to come and see to that cut for you", Jack told her as he led her into one of the side rooms in the ER"

"Wait", Kate called, grabbing his arm, "can't you do it?" she asked timidly.

Jack smiled and took her hand in his, "I can't, I'm not on duty" he told her, "and besides…" he added, showing her his hand which was bruised and swollen from punching Wayne.

Kate's eyes widened when she saw his purple hand, "I'm so sorry Jack", she told him sadly.

"Hey" Jack replied firmly, tilting her chin up so she was looking at him, "None of this was your fault ok". He was rewarded with a slight nod and a small smile, to which he replied with a sweet kiss on the lips, "that's better" he added, smiling before he exited the room.

Five minutes later Jack returned with Marc in tow. He had filled him in on what had happened and told him not to bring it up with her. Marc had gotten to like Kate over the weeks that he had known her and he could see how much Jack cared for her so he was shocked and worried when he had heard what had happened, but wanted to help in any way he could.

Marc tried to disguise the shock he felt when he saw the state she was in as he entered the room, "Hey Kate" he greeted warmly, "I'm flattered that you came all the way down here for me, but you know if you wanted to see me all you had to do was call" he added teasingly, offering her one of his trademark boyish smiles.

Jack held his breath wondering how Kate was going to react, but to his relief she laughed lightly and returned his smile, "I'll have to remember that" she replied.

Kate smiled also at Jack, conveying to him that she was grateful that he had gotten Marc to do this. She hated hospitals – she been in them too many times growing up with fractured wrists or cracked ribs from when she had 'fallen down the stairs'. The doctors then had never questioned her injuries so she didn't have much faith in them since, but she felt safe with Jack and Marc and trusted them.

"All done" Marc told her, securing a piece of gauze over her cut, "that shoulder's gunna be sore for a few days but the sling should alleviate some of the pressure. Your cut will have healed in a couple of weeks and I doubt there'll be a scar. It just needs to be cleaned every other day, which I'm sure your own personal doctor won't mind doing" he added, smiling at Jack.

"Thanks" Kate told him sincerely.

"Yeah thanks man" Jack added, patting him on the shoulder.

Marc looked down at Jack's hand on his shoulder and frowned, "Dude that's not your normal skin tone – you gotta get that checked out" he told him.

"It's fine" Jack replied, dropping his hand to his side.

"Jack…" Kate added, giving him a pleading look that he could never say no to.

Marc smiled inwardly at how easily Kate could get Jack to do what she wanted him to do. "Sit down man" he told him, "don't make me get out the restraints" he added teasingly.

Jack rolled his eyes but sat down on the gurney none the less. "There, wasn't so bad was it" Marc commented, smiling amusedly after he had cleaned up Jack's hand and bandaged it"

Jack rolled his eyes again, "Thanks" he replied, pushing himself off of the gurney.

"Alright, I'll go and get Kate's pain meds and then you're good to go" Marc told them.

Jack went over to Kate when Marc left the room and stroked her arm gently, "you ok?" he asked tenderly.

Kate smiled slightly in response, but then a look of terror crossed her face as a thought occurred to her. Bolting off the bed she ran her good hand through her hair as she paced the room, "Jack what if they let him go, what if they don't believe me?" she asked, "…he'll never stop looking for me…he said if I ever told anyone he'd kill my mom… and me…what have I done!" she added, becoming hysterical.

Jack came up behind her and wrapped his good arm firmly around her waist to stop her pacing. She struggled against him but he just held on tighter. He ducked his head so his face was pressed against hers, "Kate, hey, listen to me ok – he's not going anywhere I promise – he's going to jail for a very long time" he told her, speaking directly into her ear, "it's not just your word against his anymore – it's mine as well. He's not gunna hurt your mom, and he's not gunna hurt you ever again – I swear it Kate I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again, I love you too much…" he added and then stopped, realising what he had just said.

Kate froze hearing the last part of what he said. He loved her – Jack loved her. It was the three words she had both longed and feared to hear more than anything. "You love me?" she asked in awe, not turning around.

Jack swallowed, hoping he hadn't scared her, "I love you" he repeated smiling, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders to finally admit it, "I think I always have"

Kate turned around in his arms and looked into his face. She sucked in a breath when she saw the fear reflected in his eyes, the fear of rejection – a feeling she was all too familiar with. "You love me" she repeated again, still trying to get her head around the fact that someone like him could love someone like her.

Jack laughed lightly at her response, "I know it's not the most romantic of settings…but I've never been more sure about anything…and it's ok if you can't say it back yet – I just want you to know that I do – love you" he added reassuringly.

"Jack…" Kate choked, lightly stroking his face with her hand.

Jack gave her a small smile and dropped his gaze, taking it as a sign that she wasn't going to return his words. He knew he would wait forever to hear her say those three little words, but he couldn't help the slight hurt he felt knowing he wasn't going to hear them tonight. "I'll go and see where Marc's at with your meds, then we can get out of here" he told her as he gently removed his arm from around her waist and made his way over to the door.

Pulling the handle down he opened the door and was about to leave the room when Kate's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"I love you!" she called, desperately.

Jack turned back around, his heart soaring at her words, "I'm sorry could you say that again?" he replied teasingly as he walked back towards her.

Kate laughed happily, "I love you Jack" she told him seriously before he crushed his lips to hers in a kiss unlike any they had shared before because this one had new meaning – it was a proclamation of what they had just admitted. Kate felt a huge relief at having finally said those words again, and it wasn't nearly as scary as she thought it would be. "I love you", "I love you", she murmured against his lips, in between quick kisses, before connecting them in a deeper, more passionate kiss.

Marc chose that moment to walk back in and raised his eyebrows, smiling at the scene in front of him, "Well, I guess that's better pain relief than any meds I've got" he commented, and rolled is eyes laughing as they didn't pull apart, "…I'll just leave these here" he added, placing the meds on a cabinet before leaving them alone.

* * *

2 months later

"I can't believe it – I can't believe its finally over" Kate exclaimed as they walked out of the court house.

"Believe it" Jack told her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "You're free – you don't have to run anymore"

Wayne had been sentenced to 20 years for attempted rape, 2 counts of assault and after Jack had persuaded her, Kate had told the police what Wayne had done to her when she was a child, and so he had also been convicted of rape.

Kate looked up at Jack and for the first time since they had been together she wasn't scared of loving him. "I love you – you know that don't you", she told him happily.

Jack's smile lit up his whole face as he heard those words. Every time she said them he felt a shiver run down his spine and he said a silent prayer of thanks at having found this incredible woman. "I love you too" he replied, placing a sweet kiss on her temple. "So Miss Austen, what are you planning on doing with your new found freedom?" he asked, pulling back slightly so he could see her face.

Kate didn't have to think about that, because the answer was staring right at her. Placing her hands on either side of Jack's face she answered him by crushing her lips to his, giving him an unspoken promise that she was his, and that she was done running.

Running her tongue along his lips she deepened the kiss, getting lost in the feel of him. They were interrupted however by a vibrating in Jack's pocket, and pulling away Jack gave her an apologetic smile as he flipped his cell open.

"Jack Shephard", he answered slightly impatiently. "Oh, hi" he added realising who it was. "Is there something wrong?" he continued, taking a few steps away from Kate. He froze and almost dropped his phone when he heard the reply, "What!" he exclaimed, "…you must have made a mistake…are you sure?…I can't…who?…where?… no, thanks for telling me…ok, yeah I'll do that…bye"

Jack dropped down onto one of the steps, not trusting his legs to hold him up. He was in shock – he couldn't believe what he had just been told.

Kate looked at Jack concerned – all of the colour had drained from his face and he looked like he was about to throw up. "Are you ok?" she asked, crouching down in front of him and placing a hand on his arm.

Jack snapped out of his trance and looked at her, "That was the lawyer dealing with my dad's will…apparently I'm not the sole beneficiary – it's split 2 ways. I have a sister – in Australia" he told her.

* * *

_You might be thinking that this last bit is kind of out of the blue but I can promise you it will all fit together!_

_Please review – it will really brighten up my long and boring days of having my head stuck in a book! Thanks_

_Next chapter - Australia_


	12. Chapter 12

_A thousand apologies for my drastic lack of updates lately! I only have one exam left now so updates will be much more frequent. Hopefully this slightly longer chapter will be worth the wait.

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_

Kate had driven home that day as Jack had been in too much of a daze to be safely in control of a vehicle. The whole ride back he didn't say anything, just staring blankly ahead, barely blinking. Kate had to tell him when they arrived back as he didn't seem to have noticed.

Once inside the apartment, all of his pent up emotion became too much to keep inside any longer. First of all he became angry – angry with his father, unable to comprehend how he could have lied to him for 25 years, never having told him that he had a sister, and angry that he was no longer here for Jack to vent his frustration on. He was also beyond confused about how this could have been kept a secret for so long and how he'd never suspected a thing. After calming down somewhat, a new emotion struck him – sadness. He was sad for the fact that some of the loneliness he'd felt as a child could have been avoided with the addition of a sibling, and he regretted that he had missed out on so much of her life and that he hadn't been given the chance to see her grow up.

After getting everything off his chest he felt physically drained, and only then did he realise that he was in Kate's arms, with her protectively holding his head to her shoulder whilst whispering soothing words in his ear.

After much persuasion from Kate he decided to call his sister – Claire. Kate stayed by his side the entire time, holding his hand in an effort to take away some of his fears. After a tentative beginning, the conversation was not nearly as awkward as Jack had expected. Claire sounded nice and didn't seem to hate him for seemingly being the preferred child. Jack couldn't apologise enough for his father's behaviour, to which Claire laughed warmly and told him that it wasn't his fault. After speaking for a while, Claire had become excited about having a brother and had insisted that they meet, and so rather uncharacteristically Jack had impulsively suggested he and Kate go over to Sydney to see her. Claire had been more than happy with this idea and began planning all of the places she would have to show them, as he had never been to Australia. Jack had smiled at her ramblings; his fears about her reaction to him now subsided. A child's cries interrupted their conversation and with that Claire promised to call him back to arrange the details and when Jack asked who the child was, she smiled and told him that she would introduce him when they came over.

Jack would never have left without Kate, but thankfully she didn't take much persuasion – she was more than happy to get away from LA for a while after everything that had happened lately, and after all of the times he had been there for her when she needed him she was more than willing to repay the favour now that he needed her, and would have gladly walked over hot coals if that's what it took.

So 2 weeks later they stood in front of LAX, bags packed, ready to travel half way around the world. "Are you ok?" Jack asked tentatively, noticing that Kate looked slightly nervous.

Kate smiled reassuringly at him, "Yeah I'm ok", she told him, "Its just…I've just never been on a plane before" she added sheepishly.

Jack raised his eyebrows at her declaration, clearly shocked, "Are you serious?" he asked, a slight smile tugging at his lips, "I thought you said you'd seen most of America"

Kate rolled her eyes affectionately at him, "there are other ways to get around besides flying Jack" she explained, "…cheaper ways," she added.

"Well I suppose there's a first time for everything", Jack smiled, and then leant in towards her ear, "and don't worry – if you get scared or bored we could always join the mile high club" he murmured teasingly.

"Jack!" Kate exclaimed, playfully swatting him on the arm, causing him to laugh, "Come on" she added, taking his hand, "we need to check in".

"Ok Sir, here are your tickets" the woman at the ticket collection desk told him, "Flight 814 outbound to Sydney, departing at 9:30 from gate 23, and flight 815, inbound from Sydney to Los Angeles, departing on September 22nd"

"Thank you" Jack told her, taking the tickets.

"Enjoy your flight", she replied, giving him a friendly smile.

"We will" Kate replied, giving the woman a tight smile back, before walking towards the departure lounge with Jack.

"What?" he asked, noticing her moody expression.

"She was flirting with you" Kate stated.

"What" Jack chuckled, "she was just being polite"

Kate scowled, "She was flirting"

"Are you jealous" Jack asked amusedly.

"No" Kate replied stubbornly, "…maybe" she conceded, earning a chuckle from Jack, "Stop laughing – it's not funny!"

Jack stopped laughing and placed a gentle hand on her cheek, "Trust me – you have nothing to worry about" he told her sweetly, "I haven't even looked at another woman since the day I met you"

Kate smiled warmly at him, her annoyance forgotten, "thank you" she told him, placing a tender kiss on his lips.

_'Would all passengers travelling on Oceanic Airlines flight 814 to Sydney, please make their way to gate 23, as we are ready to start boarding'_

"Guess that's us"

* * *

Sixteen hours later Jack and Kate pulled up outside a charming little house in one of the quieter coastal areas of Sydney – Bate Bay. 

"This is it" Kate stated, looking at the address Jack had scribbled down.

Turning off the ignition of their rental car, Jack let out a deep breath.

"You ready?", Kate asked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah" Jack replied, "its just that all of my relationships with my family have always been screwed up…I just don't want that to happen with Claire"

Kate looked at him and saw the vulnerability in his eyes – he was scared of being rejected. She gave him a reassuring smile, "She's gunna love you Jack – how could she not?" she told him sweetly, "You're an amazing guy, and you're gunna be an amazing brother".

Jack gave her a warm smile in response, and then took a deep breath to steady his nerves before getting out of the car. "Lets do this" he told her as held open her door for her and then took her hand, leading her up the drive.

After knocking they didn't have to wait long before the door opened to reveal a smiling young woman with long wavy blonde hair. "You must be Jack" she exclaimed excitedly, before pulling him into a warm hug.

Jack was slightly startled at the action but wrapped a tentative arm around her back none the less. When she pulled away he smiled shyly at her before turning to Kate, "And this is Kate" he told her, placing an arm on her waist.

"Hi" Claire replied, her smile widening before hugging Kate in much the same manner as Jack, "I'm Claire", she added when she pulled away, "Jack's told m so much about you, and he really wasn't exaggerating when he said how beautiful you are".

Kate blushed at the compliment, "thank you" she replied. She could already tell that she was going to like Claire and she couldn't imagine a nicer person for Jack to have as a sister.

"Come in, come in" Claire told them, motioning for them to come through the door, "you must be exhausted – I've made some food because I knew you'd be hungry after such a long flight – its in the garden" she added, leading them out onto some decking.

"You really didn't need to go to so much trouble" Jack told her, surveying the array of food that Claire had prepared.

"It's no trouble" she replied, "oh and you'll have some help with eating all of that" she added with a smile before heading back into the house and returning holding a young boy, who looked about 4 years old, with soft golden curls and blue eyes.

"Jack, I'd like you to meet your nephew – this is Aaron" she told him. "Aaron, this is your Uncle Jack and Auntie Kate – are you going to say hi?" she asked the little boy.

"Hi" Aaron replied, offering them a wide toothy smile.

Jack smiled at the adorable little boy in front of him, feeling a surge of pride that he was related to him.

Aaron climbed down from Claire and ran over to the table where the food was and picked up a plate before running back over to Jack and Kate, "Do you want some cakes?" he asked them, "I made them" he added, smiling proudly.

"Wow, you really made those?" Kate asked, crouching down so at the little boy's level, "they're amazing" she told him, earning a wide grin from him. "erm…I don't know which one to have – they all look so good" she added, studying them seriously.

"You should have this one" Aaron told her, pointing to one in the middle, "its pretty like you"

Kate laughed warmly at being compared to cake and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Thanks Aaron" she told him, taking a bite of the cake he had suggested, "mmm, that is the best cake I've ever tasted" she told him.

Aaron giggled happily and then ran over to Jack and Claire to offer them some too.

Jack had been watching the whole scene and felt his heart melt seeing how good she was with children, and only hoped that one day he would be witnessing a scene like that with their child.

After filling up on the variety of food that Claire and Aaron had prepared, the three sat chatting happily whilst Aaron, now on a sugar high, ran around playing with his toy plane. "I'll introduce you to Charlie later" Claire told them smiling, "he's my boyfriend – he's not Aaron's biological dad but he's been around ever since he was a baby and treats him as if he was his own, and Aaron thinks of him as his dad too. He's at work at the moment but he'll be back later" she explained.

Jack suddenly felt a small body launch itself into his leg and looked down to find Aaron staring up at him with a smile on his face, "Uncle Jack, do you know how to play soccer?" he asked hopefully, "Mommy says I can join a team when I'm bigger so I need to practice lots"

Jack smiled at his nephew, "Soccer huh?" he asked, eliciting a nod from the little boy, "You're probably way better than me but I'll give it a try"

Aaron grinned in response, "well I am very good" he agreed.

Jack laughed and scooped Aaron up, lifting him up in the air, causing the little boy to squeal in delight, "come on then, how 'bout you show me your soccer skills" he said to Aaron as he carried him down onto the grass.

Kate and Claire watched the two playing together with Jack letting Aaron score goals past him, earning screams of laughter and happiness from the child at having won against his uncle.

"He's great with kids" Claire commented, "Aaron loves him already".

"Yeah he is" Kate agreed, smiling as she watched Jack hang his head in mock defeat as Aaron kicked the ball through his legs into the goal.

"He'll make a great father one day" Claire added and noticed how Kate blushed at her comment, "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry" she added.

"No, no its fine" Kate reassured her, "I've thought that myself – I know he'll be a wonderful father, I just don't know how good a mother I'll be", she admitted.

"Sweetie, you'll be an amazing mom – I can tell" Claire replied, placing a hand on her arm, "Aaron loves you too – he doesn't give his cakes to just anyone" she added, smiling.

"Thanks" Kate told her gratefully.

Kate turned her attention back to the boys as she heard her name being called. "Auntie Kate, Auntie Kate!" Aaron called as he ran towards her, "Uncle Jack says you're the best at climbing trees – can you show me how?" he asked, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

Kate smiled at the boy, "Uncle Jack told you that did he" she asked with a chuckle as Jack came up behind Aaron, clearly out of breath.

"Uh huh" Aaron replied.

Jack sat back down next to Kate, "I don't know where he gets all of his energy from" he told them with a smile.

Claire chuckled, "it's probably the buckets of sugar he's eaten today" she replied.

"Looks like you wore Uncle Jack out" Kate added teasingly, smiling at Jack "Lets go show you how to climb that tree", she added, offering Aaron her hand.

"Thanks for inviting us out here" Jack told Claire as they watched Kate help Aaron up onto one of the lower branches.

"Its my pleasure", Claire replied, smiling, "what are sisters for".

"I love it here" Jack commented, laying his head back on the chair and looking up at the clear blue sky, "its so different to LA…so much more relaxed and laid back"

"It is a beautiful place" Claire agreed, "especially at sunset – Elouera beach is a 2 minute walk from here. Charlie and I take Aaron there all the time – its really romantic…you should take Kate there" she added, giving him a knowing smile.

"Yeah, Kate loves the beach" Jack replied, smiling as he watched Aaron jump into Kate's arms from the branch and her twirl him around.

"You two seem really happy" Claire commented, "How did you meet?"

Jack smiled at the unusualness of their first meeting, "erm we were actually taken hostage in a bank together" he told her, laughing lightly as her eyes widened.

Jack explained about the bank situation, to which Claire was clearly impressed. They talked about her and Charlie and how their first meeting wasn't quite as dramatic as Jack and Kate's. Conversation flowed naturally, catching up on 25 years that they'd missed from each other's lives. Jack was glad he had come here because Claire was the first member of his family that he actually felt he could relate to.

Their reminiscing was interrupted by Kate carrying a sleepy Aaron back towards them, his curly blonde head resting on her shoulder. "I think he's all climbed out" she commented, looking down at the sleepy child in her arms.

"Looks like this little man's ready for bed" Claire replied, as Kate passed Aaron to her, "I'm gunna go put him to bed. Jack, you should take Kate to that place I told you about" she added, giving him a wink.

Jack rolled his eyes affectionately at her, realising that she was a hopeless romantic.

"And by the time you get back, Charlie should be back too" she told them happily, "Have fun"

"So where's this mystery place then Jack?" Kate asked as took her hand and led her out of the house.

* * *

Kate stood with her back pressed against Jack's chest, with his arms loosely wrapped around her waist and his head resting atop hers. The gentle breeze lightly blew her curls against his face as they watched the sky's colourful performance as it changed from night to day. "I like it here" Kate sighed as she leant further into Jack's embrace, "Are you glad we came?" she asked. 

"Aside from chasing after you, I think it was one of the best decisions I've ever made" he replied.

Kate smiled at his response, "It's a shame we've only got another 3 days here, I wish we could stay here forever" she sighed.

"Why don't we?" Jack replied automatically.

"Why don't we what?" Kate asked.

"Stay" Jack added.

Kate turned around in Jack's arms so she could see him, "Jack are you sure you haven't been drinking that seawater?" she asked teasingly.

"I'm serious Kate" he replied enthusiastically, "I mean LA has a lot of bad memories for both of us and there's nothing keeping us there. We could have a whole new start here – a second chance" he added, looking deep into her eyes in an effort to show her how serious he was.

Kate was stunned to say the least, unused to Jack being so impulsive. She couldn't say she wasn't tempted, the idea of starting afresh with Jack in this beautiful place more than she could ever have hoped for.

Jack saw the temptation in her eyes and could tell that she wanted it. Removing his arms from around her waist he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it he took out the airline tickets for their return flight and held them up to her. "What do you say?" he asked, and in response he caught her lips curve into a half smile. He didn't need any more confirmation and so tore the tickets into tiny pieces and let the wind carry them away.

"Jack!" Kate exclaimed in a mixture of shock and amusement, "I can't believe you just did that" she chuckled.

Jack placed his hand under her chin; tilting it up slightly so she was looking right at him, "Stay with me?" he breathed huskily, emotion overcoming him.

Kate looked into his eyes and felt her eyes welling up at the devotion and love she saw there. This beautiful, amazing man had saved her in so many ways and there were no words to describe how much she loved him. In response she simply nodded, a smile tugging at her lips.

Jack broke out into a huge grin, understanding without words needing to be spoken. He reached out and cupped her face with one of his hands, "Close your eyes" he told her, earning a confused look from Kate, although she was still smiling. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"I trust you" Kate replied sincerely.

Jack gave a small nod to which Kate followed by closing her eyes, "You'd better not throw me in the water again" she teased, earning a chuckle from Jack.

"Ok you can open them now" he told her.

Kate opened her eyes and her jaw dropped when she saw Jack down on one knee looking back up at her.

* * *

_You know the drill – please, please, please review; it really will make my day! Thanks :)_

**Oh and also, there's a poll at DarkUFO for the season 3 awards – Jate is losing at the moment for favourite couple, so everyone needs to get voting! Don't let Skate win!**

**You can get there by copying 'darkufo season 3 awards voting open' into Google and then click on the first link that comes up. (Click 'reveal votes' to get the polls up so you can vote) **


	13. Chapter 13

_No more exams! 1__st_

* * *

"_Ok you can open them now" he told her._

Kate opened her eyes and her jaw dropped when she saw Jack down on one knee looking back up at her.

"Jack" Kate whispered, her breath hitching in her throat.

"I know this is kind of out of the blue, and my heart is beating so fast I think it might explode" Jack began, taking her hand in his and looking directly into her eyes, "please just don't say anything until I've finished?" he asked tentatively, receiving the faintest of nods from Kate.

Jack let out a breath; summoning every ounce of courage he had for what would probably be the most important speech of his life. "Kate, from the moment I met you, I was yours. You affected me in a way that no one else ever has…and there hasn't been a day gone by that I haven't thought about you" he told her, encouraged as her face softened at his words, "I don't know when it happened but I fell in love with you – I've fallen so deep that I know I'll never get out. These past few months of being with you have been the best of my life and they've shown me that before you there was always a part of me that was missing. You complete me Kate," he added, becoming choked up as emotion overcame him. "I can't imagine a future without you in it, I love you more than you will ever know and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy". Jack paused for a moment and took a deep breath, "Kate Austen, you would give me the greatest honour if you agreed to become my wife. Will you marry me?"

Kate looked at the incredible man kneeling down in front of her, his eyes brimming with unshed tears and felt her own eyes let go of a few tears. He looked so nervous and scared of her response that it made her heart melt. She loved this man more than life itself and he had given to her a happiness that she never thought she deserved, much less believed she could ever have, and here he was, offering himself to her completely. The majority of her life she had spent running or hiding from someone and that was what prevented her from ever letting anyone get close to her, but now there was no need to look over her shoulder anymore, and so for the first time in her life Kate stopped running. "Yes " she whispered almost inaudibly.

"Yes?" Jack asked, afraid that he had imagined it, the hope radiating in his eyes making them sparkle in the fading light.

"Yes" Kate repeated, louder this time, laughing happily, her smile lighting up her entire face, "yes I will marry you".

If Jack hadn't already melted her heart, his smile in response to her answer would have turned it to complete mush as he stood back up, picking her up by the waist in the process before twirling her around, causing her laughter to increase.

Placing her back down on the ground, Jack cupped her cheek with his hand, "close your eyes again" he told her.

This time Kate just smiled in response and dutifully closed her eyes.

"Ok" Jack added a few seconds later.

Kate gasped when she opened her eyes – Jack was holding up to her the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was an exquisite platinum band with a sizable and sparkling diamond sitting proudly atop of it. "Jack", she breathed, string in awe at the ring.

"I know I've done this a bit backwards, giving you the ring after the proposal but - "

"Jack its beautiful" Kate interrupted.

"If you don't like it, you can choose another one" Jack told her timidly.

"Are you kidding, Jack I love it!" Kate exclaimed, "How long have you had this?"

Jack blushed, "I've had it for about a month now. I was walking past a jewellers' and it caught my eye…I went in and I was kind of drawn to the engagement rings. The sales woman came over and asked if I was going to be asking a certain question and I said yes…I didn't even have to think about it…and that's when I realised I wanted to marry you. I didn't like any of the rings they had on display, so she said I could have one custom made…so I did" Jack told her, taking the ring out of the box, "I chose platinum because its even more precious than gold, and the diamond, it's a 2a diamond – it's the purest kind you can get. You the best thing that's ever happened to me Kate you deserve only the best" he added, handing her the ring, "look on the inside".

Kate had begun to tear up as Jack was speaking. Taking the ring she turned it to see an inscription – _'I love you – Jack', _it simply stated. She handed the ring back to him and held out her hand. Jack smiled, taking the ring and slid it gently onto her wedding finger – it was a perfect fit. Kate swallowed the lump that had built in her throat but couldn't stop the happy tear that escaped and rolled down her cheek. "I love you" she told him, citing the words he had inscribed before crushing her lips to his.

* * *

Back at the house…

"Daddy!" Aaron squealed happily, running towards Charlie as he came through the door.

"Hey turnip head" Charlie replied, as he scooped Aaron up, turning him upside down and tickling him, which sent the little boy into fits of giggles.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Claire commented, smiling as she placed a kiss on Charlie's cheek, "not unless you want some decoration on your shoes - he's eaten enough to fill a bakery today!" she added fondly, ruffling Aaron's hair as Charlie set him back down.

"I played with Uncle Jack and Auntie Kate today Daddy", Aaron told Charlie, "and Auntie Kate showed me how to climb trees…come on Daddy I'll show you – I can go real high" he added enthusiastically, before running off into the garden.

Charlie smiled at his son's enthusiasm, "sounds like it went well today then?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're both really nice ", Claire replied smiling, "Jack's really sweet, and he and Kate are so cute together – their kids are going to be gorgeous", she added.

"I didn't think they were married" Charlie commented.

"They're not" Claire replied, waving her hand at the technicality, "but it's just a matter of time" she added.

Charlie chuckled, familiar with Claire's matchmaking. "So where are they?" he asked.

"They should be back soon, they've gone for a walk on the beach" Claire replied.

Right on cue there was a knock at the door and Claire opened it to reveal Kate standing with Jack behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, smiling back at her. "I take it you had fun at the beach" Claire commented, noticing the happiness on both of their faces.

In response Jack and Kate just smiled at her as they stepped past her into the house. Finally letting go of her waist, but keeping hold of her hand, Jack guided her into the living room where he noticed the young blond man for the first time. "You must be Charlie" Jack commented, holding out his hand to him, "Claire's told me all about you. I'm Jack, and this is Kate", he added, turning to Kate.

"If it's anything bad, don't believe her" Charlie replied jokingly, shaking Jack's hand, "It's nice to meet you. I think Aaron's your new number 1 fan for showing him how to climb trees", he added as he shook Kate's hand also.

After finally getting Aaron to agree to go to bed, with the promise that Jack and Kate would still be there in the morning, Claire joined the others who were laughing about something Charlie had just told them. "So, have you enjoyed your first day in Australia?" she asked as she sat down next to Charlie.

Jack looked down at Kate, giving her a secret smile, "yeah, it's been pretty special" he replied. Kate smiled back at Jack before leaning into his chest as he draped an arm over her shoulder.

Claire studied Kate and her new brother – there was something different about them. Her eyes widened when the light caught the rock that now adorned Kate's finger – there was no two ways about it – that was an engagement ring. "You're getting married!" she exclaimed, interrupting the conversation.

Charlie looked confused at her outburst but after following her gaze he broke out into a smile. "Mate that's bloody fantastic!" he exclaimed, standing and shaking Jack's hand.

"I knew there was something different about you two when you came back" Claire stated happily, going over to Kate, "Let me see that rock!" she added enthusiastically.

Kate couldn't control the smile that spread across her whole face as she held out her hand for Claire to inspect.

"Wow, now that's what you call a ring!" she exclaimed, "Jack you have amazing taste" she added, looking up at her brother.

"I know" Jack replied, slipping an arm around Kate's waist and placing a kiss on her temple.

* * *

The next few days were spent with Jack and Claire catching up on the years that they'd missed out on with each other and when Claire had gotten a huge case of wedding fever and insisted on taking Kate shopping, Charlie had suggested that he and Jack leave the girls to it and partake in the more manly activity of a few rounds of golf.

Before they knew it, 3 days had gone by and had Jack not torn up the tickets, they would have been due to fly back to LA 4 hours ago. With the hive of activity over the past few days, they hadn't really discussed the practicalities of their impulsive decision to move permanently to Australia.

In one of the first moments since she had arrived here that she had to herself, Kate lay back on the sofa, vaguely paying attention to the cooking program that was playing on the TV. She thought about how incredibly her life had changed over the past few days and she smiled as she looked out of the window and saw the reason for her happiness playing soccer in the garden with Aaron and Charlie.

Her daydreaming was interrupted however as her attention was caught by a switch in voices coming from the TV.

_"We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news that flight 815 en route from Sydney to LAX has crashed somewhere over the South Pacific. Contact with the pilot was lost a few hours into the flight after the aircraft encountered heavy turbulence. It is not known if there are any survivors but there is estimated to be huge loss of life. We will bring you more details as they come in" _came the announcement from a newsreader.

Kate stared wide-eyed at the screen, her mouth agape. She hadn't heard anything after '_flight 815 en route from Sydney to LAX has crashed somewhere over the South Pacific'_, too shocked to comprehend anything else - that was their flight. So in shock was she that she didn't hear her name being called and only noticed when Jack came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Kate looked up at Jack, her face pale and then wordlessly turned back to the TV screen. Jack followed her gaze and the colour drained from his face as he watched the news banner flashing across the screen.

"We were meant to be on that flight" Kate stated, standing up but not taking her eyes off of the screen.

Jack turned his attention from the TV to Kate and realised that she was in shock. Going round to the other side of the sofa he stood in front of her, blocking her view of the screen. Tilting her face up he forced her to look at him, "Kate listen to me" he told her, keeping his hand under her chin, "we were not meant to be on that flight".

"Yes we were" she replied, "Jack we had tickets"

Jack gave her one of his familiar half smiles, realising that he had become more of a man of faith than a man of science now – the crash was a sign, "No Kate we weren't" he insisted, "we weren't meant to leave – you and me, we're meant to stay here", he added, relieved as she relaxed and leaned into his embrace, burying her head in his chest.

* * *

_I was intrigued by the ending to TTLG with the idea that they weren't meant to leave, so I thought it would be cool to have this story parallel with that idea. Anyway please review and let me know what you think, thanks :)_


	14. Chapter 14

_Well it's been a fun ride but this is the last chapter. I may do an epilogue but this just seemed like the best finale. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Enjoy and please let me know what you think:)_

* * *

_Jack gave her one of his familiar half smiles, realising that he had become more of a man of faith than a man of science now – the crash was a sign, "No Kate we weren't" he insisted, "we weren't meant to leave – you and me, we're meant to stay here", he added, relieved as she relaxed and leaned into his embrace, burying her head in his chest._

4 months gone by since flight 815 had crashed, and after learning of the tragedy they had decided to have their things shipped over rather than flying back to collect them. They had found the perfect house that they had fallen in love with the moment they saw it. It was a beautiful house with balconies that had views of the ocean and as a bonus it was only 5 minutes away from Claire and Charlie. Although it was all bought and paid for, Jack had asked Claire if they could stay with her until the wedding, wanting his and Kate's first night in their new home to be as man and wife.

Jack and Kate sat leaning against the tree in the garden, his arm draped around her shoulder and her head resting on his as they stared up at the starry sky.

"…and that's Cassiopeia" Jack told her, pointing to a constellation of stars.

"Wow, really?" Kate replied, following Jack's gaze.

"I dunno, it could be" Jack added.

"Jack you're so full of it" Kate laughed, prodding him in the ribs affectionately.

Jack smiled and pulled her closer to him, placing a kiss to the top of her head, "I can't believe I'm marrying you tomorrow".

Kate smiled happily, it still felt like a dream to her that she could be with Jack forever, "Kate Shephard" she stated, trying it out, "I like it", she added.

Jack felt a rush of pride at hearing his name attached to hers. Shifting slightly he turned and tilted her chin up so she was looking at him, "I love you" he told her sincerely.

"I love you too" she replied hoarsely, before leaning up and capturing his lips with her own.

The kiss started off sweet but quickly deepened, the passion that arose in each of them every time they kissed never ceased to amaze them. Their tongues danced circles with each other, exploring every recess of each other's mouths. "Maybe we should take this inside," Jack mumbled breathlessly between kisses.

Pulling away Kate smiled, "Uh uh" she replied, placing a hand on his chest, "its separate beds tonight Jack – its tradition" she added sweetly.

Jack frowned, "I thought you were joking about that" he moaned playfully, leaning in for another kiss.

Kate chuckled, pushing him back by his chest so he couldn't kiss her again and persuade her to throw tradition out of the window. "Its just one night, and besides…" she told him, leaning in towards his ear, "the wait will make tomorrow night even more amazing", she added, eliciting a moan of anticipation from Jack.

Crouching up onto her knees she leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his lips, "I'll see you in the morning" she breathed, standing up, "at our wedding" she added as she turned back towards the house, unable to control the smile that spread across her face.

* * *

Under orders from Kate, Jack along with Charlie and Marc had been banished to a hotel at the crack of dawn so that the girls could get ready and so that Jack could not see the bride before the wedding. 

"Its not too late dude – it'll be tight but I'm sure you can fit through that window if you want" Marc teased as he readjusted Jack's tie.

Jack chuckled, "Not a chance man" he replied, "she's my world".

Marc smiled and rolled his eyes, "you didn't used to be this soppy" he told him teasingly, "Seriously though, I'm happy for you man" he added, lightly punching him on the arm.

"Thanks" Jack replied.

Marc smiled before turning back to the mirror to check his own appearance, "Oh and just because you've moved to a different continent, I'm still gunna be round here all the time" he added.

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Jack told him.

"We look hot" Marc commented, looking at their reflections, "lets do this" he added, "are you ready?"

Jack let out a deep breath in an effort to calm his nerves, "I'm ready", he replied.

"Bridesmaids here I come" Marc added, slapping Jack on the back as they headed out to the car.

* * *

Kate stood inspecting her reflection with Claire and Emily standing proudly beside her. 

"You look beautiful" Claire gushed, "Jack's not gunna know what's hit him"

"She's right" Emily agreed, "you look amazing"

Kate smiled at her friend's compliments and continued to take in her appearance. She was wearing a white, pure silk strapless gown with a small amount of embroidery on it and a trail at the back. It came in at the waist and then flowed out in a sort of fish tail, complimenting her slender figure. It was simple but undeniably elegant. When Kate had been looking through the dressmakers' designs she had known immediately that this was the only one for her. Her hair had been kept curly, as she knew that that was how Jack liked it best, and put up with a few curls loosely hanging down and framing her face and tiny white roses nestled here and there. Claire had done her make up for her, going for the natural look as she had commented that Kate was one of those lucky women that didn't need make up. She had just used some soft eye make up to accentuate her eyes and added a touch of lip-gloss.

Kate smiled as she turned from side to side, admiring her dress. Her smile grew as she saw how happy she looked – she had never believed that she could ever have this, and now here she was about to have all of her dreams come true.

* * *

They had decided to get married on the beach, Elouera beach, as it just seemed like the perfect spot for a wedding, and since that was where Jack had proposed it had special meaning. A beautiful arch, covered in red and white roses had been constructed, with more roses lining a path where guests were seated on either side. The sun shone down, illuminating the ocean, which gently lapped at the shore, adding an extra element to the soft music that was playing. 

Jack nervously stood at the foot of the arch, with Marc by his side and the minister in front of him. It felt like there was an entire butterfly farm swarming around his stomach and he was beginning to wish he had skipped breakfast. He clasped his hands together in an effort to stop them shaking.

"Calm down man" Marc whispered, leaning over to his best friend after noticing Jack had turned rather pale, "you spend enough of your time in hospitals, you don't want to be taking a trip to one on your wedding day" he added teasingly.

Jack laughed lightly at Marc's efforts to calm him down. He was about to get everything he had ever dreamed of and because he was so close to it he was scared that it would all be taken away.

He snapped out of it however when the music stopped and the wedding march began to play. Jack's mouth curved into a smile as he heard the song and turning around his breath caught in his throat as he saw Kate standing at the top of the rose lined path. In that instant all of his nerves dissipated and the next few seconds seemed to go in slow motion as Kate slowly began the walk towards him with Sam proudly holding her arm and Claire and Emily beaming as they followed behind her. Jack maintained eye contact with her the entire time, refusing to blink, as he didn't want to miss even a second. Standing there watching her walk towards him in her wedding dress, Jack couldn't think of any words that would do justice to how beautiful she looked. Every time he saw her she looked more beautiful to him, but the image of her now was something else and it would be forever engraved in his mind.

"Hi" she said, smiling shyly as she came to a stop, standing before him.

"Hey" he replied as he took her hand, breaking out into a huge grin, "you look beautiful" he added softly, causing her eyes to light up.

The minister smiled at the young lovers in front of him and motioned for the guests to sit down. With Jack and Kate facing each other, the minister stood between them and began the ceremony.

"With great joy, we come together to join this man, Jack Christian Shephard, and this woman, Katherine Elizabeth Austen, in holy matrimony.

This marriage is an event in the lifetime of a love. Neither I, nor all society, can join these two lovers today. Only they can do what they have chosen. They are joining themselves, each to the other. As they find union with one another, they proclaim that union today and pledge its future. We, by our participation in this celebration, do but recognize and honour their intention to dwell together as husband and wife" he began, "Jack and Kate have decided to write their own vows, so Jack would you like to begin?" he added.

Jack took a deep breath and looked into Kate's eyes. He had written his vows out and had them in his jacket pocket in case he forgot them, but looking at her looking at him with nothing but love and adoration in her eyes, the words just came straight back to him.

"Kate, when I was trying to decide what to say today I wanted to come up with something epic and momentous, but I realised that there were no words that could do justice to you and fully convey how much you mean to me, but I'm gunna try" Jack began, "I never thought it was possible to love someone as much as I love you. I've loved you since the day we met and I'll love you 'til the day I die and then some. I didn't realise it until I met you but for 35 years I'd only been half living, there was always a part of me that was missing. You're my heart Kate and I want to thank you because you being with me makes me complete. You're my soul mate, my lover and my best friend and I promise to love you, honour you, protect you and to spend the rest of my life making you happy"

Kate's eyes were brimming with tears after listening to Jack's beautiful words and seeing the sincerity in his eyes. She swallowed the lump that had built in her throat and used all of her willpower to stop the tears from falling. She turned her head to look at the minister, who smiled at her and nodded for her to continue.

"Well I'm glad I'm wearing waterproof mascara!" Kate replied, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, causing Jack and the guests to chuckle. Looking back up at Jack she smiled warmly at him, "Where do I start…Jack you've given me everything I ever dreamed of and so much more than I ever thought I could have. I love you so much that sometimes it's hard to breathe. The day we met, you changed me Jack – you made me feel again. You saved my life that day, but not just from that bullet, you unintentionally made me realise that there was a part of me that was missing, a part I couldn't live without – and that's you Jack; you're a part of me too. I love you so much and I know I've already said that but I do Jack and I want to make you as happy as you make me. I'll be there through all of the good times and I'll catch you when you fall", she continued, never breaking eye contact. She took a deep breath before saying the next part, "I promise you forever – I'm done running" she added, rectifying what she had told him before when she had said that she couldn't promise him forever, because now she could.

Jack's heart swelled at her final declaration, understanding the depth of meaning behind her words and the courage it would have taken her to make that promise after so many years of running. Now it was his turn to get emotional as tears trickled down his cheek, which he didn't bother to wipe away, his eyes shimmering as he smiled at her.

Even the minister, whom had conducted hundreds of wedding ceremonies, was moved by the emotional exchange between the two people standing before him. "Right" he began, composing himself, "do we have the rings?" he asked, to which Marc handed him the two rings. "Now Jack, repeat after me. Kate, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honour you, in the name of God"

Jack continued to look into Kate's eyes as he spoke the words, "Kate, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honour you, in the name of God" Jack repeated, taking Kate's ring from the minister and slipping it onto her finger

"And Kate, repeat after me" the minister continued, "Jack, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honour you, in the name of God"

Kate couldn't control the smile that spread across her face as she watched Jack put the ring onto her finger and looking back up into his face she fell in love with him all over again. "Jack, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honour you, in the name of God", she repeated, meaning every word.

"Before this gathering, you have promised each other your love and have given each other rings to wear as a sign of your deep commitment. It is my distinct pleasure to declare that you are now husband and wife." The minister continued. "You may kiss the bride", he added to Jack.

"I love you Mrs Shephard" Jack breathed before capturing her lips in a sweet kiss, causing the guests to stand and erupt into applause.

"We're married" Kate sighed happily as their lips parted.

"You and me – forever" Jack replied, stroking her cheek lovingly.

Kate smiled in response, "It might not be just the two of us for much longer" she added and watched in amusement as realisation dawned on Jack's face, causing her to break out into happy laughter as he picked her up and spun her around.

Finally placing her back down, Jack looked into Kate's eyes – she had said that he had saved her, but to him it was the other way around – she had saved him. Looking at her he tried to find the right words, but he knew that no words could ever express how happy she had just made him. Leaning in he kissed her again, hoping to convey what no words ever could.

_There you go, hope you liked it! I thought this would be a good place to leave it. As this is the last chapter pleeeeaase review and let me know what you think…what you liked about the chapter, favourite parts of the whole story etc. Thanks:) I have another story in the pipeline so look out for it, but for now thanks for reading!_


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